Jame’s Packer’s Barangaroo dream under scrutiny as NSW Govt examines share sale

James Packer’s sale of nearly half of his Crown shares to the son of a Chinese gambling tycoon the NSW Government banned from having any interest in the $2.2 billion Barangaroo resort will be reviewed

THE state government will review James Packer’s sale of nearly half of his Crown shares to the son of a Chinese gambling tycoon it banned from having any interest in the $2.2 billion Barangaroo resort when it granted a licence for the Sydney casino five years ago.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet last night said the liquor and gaming authority would examine the deal.

Mr Packer told The Saturday Telegraph that he would stay “deeply involved in Crown for the long term”, despite selling $1.76 billion worth of shares.

“One of the most important things in my business life is completing our Crown Sydney Hotel Resort,” Mr Packer said from Los Angeles.

Melco International chairman Lawrence Ho Yau-lung, Wynn Resorts chairman and chief executive Steve Wynn, and James Packer in Macau in 2006.

PACKER NEWS

James Packer’s ambitions intact after $10b ‘corporate canning’

Packer sells shares in Crown to Melco

His commitment to the casino comes as NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the government would look into the sale of 19.99 per cent of Crown to Lawrence Ho to ensure it complied with the Barangaroo licence granted in 2014.

Mr Ho is worth $3 billion and was previously Mr Packer’s Asian business partner in Melco Crown.

Mr Ho’s Crown stake, bought through Melco Resorts & Entertainment, falls below the 20 per cent benchmark that triggers regulatory foreign takeover approvals. But it will be subject to probity checks from state ­gaming authorities, including in NSW.

Crown’s Barangaroo licence was granted after authorities undertook strict probity checks which found Mr Ho’s father Stanley Ho — who has denied links to organised crime — was not a business associate of his son Lawrence.

The licence stipulated that Stanley Ho had no “direct, indirect or beneficial interest” in Crown.

“My understanding is the independent liquor and gaming authority will be looking at their transaction and if there are any issues in respect of it, they will investigate accordingly,” Mr Perrottet said on Sky News last night.

The Crown Casino building site at Barangaroo.

Mr Packer said he was still passionate about his Sydney casino dream.

“Once Crown Sydney is finished and operating, it will help make the Barangaroo precinct the beating heart of the city and a must-see icon for Sydneysiders, interstate and international tourists,” he said.

“My excitement for the project grows every day and my personal commitment couldn’t be stronger.”

But the agreement announced on Thursday night puts Mr Packer one deal away from handing control of his $8.5 billion Crown Resorts casino empire to Lawrence Ho.

Mr Ho immediately signalled his hunger for a bigger slice of the company, which is two years from opening the Barangaroo casino and luxury hotel and apartment tower.

In a statement to the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, Mr Ho’s Melco Resorts & Entertainment said: “Melco intends to pursue board representation on Crown’s board of directors commensurate with its ownership position. Additionally, subject to obtaining requisite regulatory approvals, Melco welcomes the opportunity to increase its ownership in Crown.”

An artist’s impression of Barangaroo, Crown Casino Sydney.

Mr Packer remains Crown’s biggest shareholder with a 26 per cent stake valued at around $2.1 billion.

“The Melco transaction allows me to diversify my business investments and stay deeply involved in Crown for the long term,” Mr Packer told The Saturday Telegraph.

Mr Packer’s father, media mogul Kerry Packer, was in business with Stanley Ho in Melco Crown before James Packer bought Ho out and developed Crown into a formidable gaming business with resorts in Melbourne and Perth.

The billionaire sons later went back into business in Melco Crown, launching the $4.4 billion Studio City in Macau with an extravagant $100 million film directed by Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.

Mr Packer sold out of Melco Crown after the arrest in China of 19 Crown Resorts staff on gambling charges.

While Mr Ho later accused foreign organisations of “spitting in the face” of Chinese authorities over bans on marketing gambling on the mainland, he said yesterday he and Mr Packer were aligned in business.

“Put simply, we share a similar core DNA with respect to how we view our businesses,” Mr Ho said.

Mr Ho’s massive Macau operations and access to China’s biggest gambling VIP “whales” could prove a winner for Crown’s coffers.