Corrs Chambers Westgarth has advised NASDAQ-listed Melco Crown Entertainment Limited on the acquisition of a 60 per cent interest in the Macau City Studio Project.
MCE is a developer and owner of casino gaming and entertainment resort facilities focused on the Macau market. Its existing properties include the Altira Macau, a casino hotel located at Taipa, and City of Dreams, an integrated urban casino resort on Cotai, Macau. MCE has strong support from both of its major shareholders, Melco International Development Limited (substantially owned and led by Co-Chairman and CEO Mr. Lawrence Ho) and Crown Limited (led by Co-Chairman Mr. James Packer).
Over the last few months, the Corrs team has worked with MCE on its debut RMB2.3 billion “dim sum” bond and the refinancing of some USD1.75 billion of City of Dreams project debt. This followed on from work on the group’s USD600 million debut high yield bond.
MCE will be developing the Macau Studio City Project together with existing investors Silver Point Capital and Oaktree Capital Management.
In a recent statement Mr. Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Melco Crown Entertainment said: “The proposed acquisition of a majority stake in the Macau Studio City project provides a unique opportunity for MCE to meaningfully increase its footprint in Macau and generate incremental value for shareholders.”
Corrs partner Rob Ritchie said: “The deal represents an important milestone in the growth of Melco Crown Entertainment and the development of Macau. We were delighted to have the opportunity to work with the group’s management team and across the table from key international relationship banks and advisers from Australia, Asia and the US on the most recent in a series of game changing transactions for the group.”
“These transactions are at the leading edge of international practice. We expect to see more like them, not just across the region but also in the Australian domestic market as more and more commercial and financial sponsors look abroad for both capital and regional investment opportunities,” Ritchie concluded.
The Corrs team was led by Ritchie and supported by senior associate (and partner elect) Steve Johns who, together with senior associate Stuart Barnard led on the acquisition; special counsel Steve Choo who advised on the bond and project loans; and lawyers Chun Wing Yeung, Robyn Maher, David Li and Nikki Chong who worked across both the acquisition and the financing.
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