James Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. and Melco International Development Ltd. plan to sell $1 billion of shares in an initial public offering of their Macau casino venture. The companies plan to sell 20 percent of the venture and list the stock on the NASDAQ exchange in New York later this year. Publishing & Broadcasting shares had their biggest gain in almost five years.
James Packer, Australia's richest man and Melco Chairman Lawrence Ho, the son of Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho, will use the funds to expand in Macau. The IPO is the subject to the companies getting regulatory approval from the Macau government for the $900 million acquisition of a casino license from Wynn Resorts Ltd., which will give Packer and Ho greater control of the Crown Macau and City of Dreams casinos they are building.
The pair also agreed to pay $193 million for land to build their third casino in Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal. Packer and Ho are in talks to buy an adjacent property to double the size of the site. Gaming revenue in Macau rose to $5.76 billion in 2005 and may overtake Las Vegas this year. The Las Vegas Strip earned $5.54 billion in the first 11 months of 2005, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
