Leisure/Hotels

Australia’s Crown could be Plan B for Japan losers

12 April 2019

James Packer’s $6 bln casino operator is effectively up for sale after Wynn submitted an offer and then ended talks. Crown would be a decent option for rivals that don’t win a licence in Osaka or Nagoya. The likes of Galaxy, Genting or Melco may yet train their sights Down Under.

Wynn splurges on a new beginning Down Under

9 April 2019

The casino giant wants to buy Australia’s Crown Resorts for $7 bln. Both companies are on the rebound after break-ups with billionaire bosses Steve Wynn and James Packer, and seeking fresh starts. But a hefty 26 pct premium bets too many chips on the return of big spenders.

Chrysler Building can ape its Midtown rival

20 March 2019

New York City’s art deco tower is being sold for $150 mln, a fraction of what it fetched a decade ago. An onerous ground lease, renovation needs and drift away from Midtown explain much of the discount. But the Empire State Building shows how to restore luster to fading icons.

Cambodia’s casino king faces new poker hands

11 March 2019

Malaysian tycoon Chen Lip Keong is enjoying an extraordinary monopoly in Phnom Penh: his $6 billion flagship group, NagaCorp, grew net profit by more than 50 percent last year. But new rules and an influx of Chinese tourists will inspire upstarts to try their luck too.

Macau’s festive blowout defies economic worries

27 February 2019

The $38 bln Chinese gambling hub looks resilient despite concerns about slowing consumption onshore. Visits rose by 27 pct over the Lunar New Year holiday; quarterly results at Melco and MGM also inspire optimism. Efforts to attract the up-and-coming middle class are paying off.

Caesars can meet its activist high-roller halfway

22 February 2019

Carl Icahn has amassed roughly 10 pct of the casino operator and wants it to consider a sale. Even at Caesars’ apparent low valuation there’s no easy buyer, nor any reason to sell in haste. Icahn isn’t a bad bet for helping turn things around, though.

HNA’s haphazard selloff keeps getting trickier

9 January 2019

The Chinese conglomerate is flogging stakes in an online lender, life insurer and brokerage. A lack of clear strategy and market perceptions of creditor clout will make it harder to profitably unwind HNA’s $50 bln buying spree. Falling asset prices aren’t helping, either.

A plucky local upstart will take on Macau’s moguls

31 December 2018

Regulators in the world’s largest gambling hub could allow new players onto the casino floor when licenses expire in 2020. With frayed U.S.-China relations dealing American giants Sands and Wynn a weak hand, homegrown names like Suncity and Golden Dragon will try their luck.

LVMH pays luxury price to check into Belmond

14 December 2018

Bernard Arnault’s champagne-to-handbags group is spending $3.2 bln including debt on the owner of Venice’s Cipriani. The multiple of 19 times expected EBITDA is as punchy as a Belmond suite. The French group will need all its limited hotel experience to make the deal work.

Marriott breach invites data cops to check in

30 November 2018

Another 500 mln people now have to worry about identity theft. Hanging onto personal data, protecting it ineffectively and disclosing breaches only slowly are habits in corporate America. It’s not only Google, Facebook and their ilk that merit privacy rules more like Europe’s.

Global hotel chains get Kentucky fried in China

19 November 2018

A video showing staff at Marriott, Hilton and other chains cleaning cups with dirty towels has gone viral, forcing local managers to apologise. As Yum Brands found, Chinese smear campaigns can become big business headaches. An escalating trade war only increases the stakes.

Chinese tourists leave investors holding the bag

14 November 2018

Luggage giant Samsonite said mainland sales fell 5 pct last quarter, blaming trade tension and consumer anxiety. Travel website Ctrip is now more cautious, while peer Tongcheng-Elong shrank its IPO. The gloom will globe-trot, including to the planned market debut for Club Med.

Qatar’s flashy London deal hints at new direction

7 November 2018

The Gulf state’s wealth fund is buying posh London hotel Grosvenor House. Despite its neighbours’ blockade, Qatar has surplus cash to invest in trophy assets that offer good returns. Acquiring glitzy baubles suggests Qatar’s new fund managers will prioritise the former.

Movie-themed casino IPO sticks to messy script

19 October 2018

Macau-based Studio City, part of Lawrence Ho’s $9 bln gambling empire, made a stellar New York debut with a 24 pct pop. The listing provides some needed capital and could help existing minority investors eventually stage an exit. It also features Melco’s costly complex structure.

Macau is handy chip in China’s standoff with Trump

15 October 2018

The gambling hub’s 20 year licenses for Sands China, Wynn Macau and others are nearing their expiry. It gives Beijing leverage over founders Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn, both friends of the U.S. president. Squeezing them could be one way to get Trump’s attention over trade.

Casino owner stacks deck in Philippines deal

5 October 2018

Lawrence Ho’s $11 bln gambling empire has offered to buy the rest of its Manila resort operator. The valuation methods are creative and Melco is trying to bully minority holders. Prospective investors in a planned New York IPO should take note of this treatment, however distant.

Unicorns spawn new fantastical tech beasts

27 September 2018

Just a few years ago, a mythology sprang up around startups with a $1 bln paper valuation. India’s Oyo Hotels just became the latest to raise at least that much cash in one go. For the unbridled chaos these investment creatures represent, they might best be labelled centaurs.

Macau casinos seek help from the common man

26 September 2018

Investors see rough times ahead for China’s gambling enclave. VIP spending has slowed, which heralded a slump in 2011. Shares in operators like Galaxy and SJM fell as much as 20 pct in September. But Macau is less reliant on high rollers today; the mass market could save it yet.

Review: Fear and loathing in the Philippines

10 August 2018

Rodrigo Duterte's two years as president have been dominated by a vicious war on drugs. A biography of the mercurial man-of-the-people known as "Duterte Harry", after the fictional cop, is blistering. It doesn't do enough, though, to address the economic cost of wanton brutality.

Macau moguls’ rivalry threatens cost discipline

10 August 2018

High rollers pumped up revenue at Galaxy and Sands last quarter, while Wynn Macau fell behind. As casinos fight for their share of China’s $38 bln gambling hub, earnings are becoming more volatile. Investors will suffer if aggressive marketing and new attractions squeeze margins.