Inside Asian Gaming

IAG OCT 2021年10月 亞博匯 14 CROWN TO CONSIDER LEASING OUT ITS CASINOS 皇冠考慮出租賭場 RECENTLY APPOINTED Crown Resorts CEO Steve McCann says the company would consider leasing out its casinos to other operators should it be found unsuitable to retain its licenses in Victoria and Western Australia. But such an option is seen as among the least desirable, with Crown still hopeful it will either be found suitable or be given a chance to achieve suitability when Royal Commissioner Ray Finkelstein hands down his findings from the Victorian Royal Commission in October. McCann’s comments, published in The Sydney Morning Herald , follow the release of Crown’s FY21 financial results which saw the company fall to a loss of AU$261.6 million (U$191.2 million). It was also revealed that talks with American global asset management firm Oaktree Capital Management LP over the acquisition of Crown shares had ceased due to growing uncertainty around the company’s future. Asked about the prospects of leasing one or all of Crown’s casinos in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney to an outside operator, McCann told The SMH , “Clearly we have to anticipate a range of scenarios and be flexible enough to respond to the scenarios that are presented.” However, he added, “That scenario would be sub-optimal for everybody because operating an integrated resort … is better achieved with everything together. It’s not an ideal scenario but it’s not something we’d rule out if we have to head in that direction.” McCann also insisted there was still interest in Crown and the value of its assets despite talks breaking down with Oaktree and other bidders. 近期上任 的澳洲皇冠度假酒店集團行政主席Steve McCann表示，若該公司被認為不適格持有維州及 西澳洲的賭牌，將考慮將其賭場出租予其他營運 商。 但這並非理想的選擇。皇冠仍然希望，當皇 家調查委員會調查員Ray Finkelstein在十月提交 其調查報告時，該公司被認為是適格，或有機會 達到適格。 據《The Sydney Morning Herald》報 道，McCann乃是在皇冠公佈2021年財務業績之 後發表上述評論。2021財年皇冠共虧損2.616億澳 元（1.912 億美元）。 此外，由於皇冠未來的不確定性增加，美國 全球資產管理公司橡樹資本收購該公司的談判已 經中止。 當被問及如果將皇冠在墨爾本、珀斯和悉 尼的一個或全部賭場出租給外部運營商的前景 時，McCann表示：「顯然，我們必須預估此一系 列的情況，並足夠靈活地應對可能出現的情況。」 但他稱：「這些對各方而言都不是最理想的 狀況，因為經營綜合度假村……最好把所有東西 集中在一起。雖然並非理想狀況，但如果我們必 須這樣做的話我們是會這樣做的。」 McCann同時表示，儘管與橡樹資本和其他 競標者的談判破裂，但仍有投資者對皇冠及其資 產價值感興趣。