Australian business magnate James Packer is to return to casino operator Crown Resorts’ board as a director shortly after the company scrapped plans for US expansion and reduced its stake in Melco Crown Entertainment significantly.
Mr. Packer is the biggest shareholder in Crown Resorts, owning a 48% stake. His interest in the company is controlled through his Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH) private investment vehicle.
It was announced on Tuesday that Robert Rankin, Chairman of Crown Resorts’ board and CEO of CPH, has resigned from his posts. Mr. Rankin’s role at the casino operator will be taken by John Alexander. Mr. Alexander is currently occupying the Executive Deputy Chairman post. He will assume his new role from February 1. Legal adviser Guy Jelland will take the vacant CEO job at CPH. Mr. Ranking will remain member of the gambling operator’s board.
Mr. Packer resigned as Crown Resorts Chairman in August 2015. He quit the company’s board several months later. The move was motivated by the businessman’s plans to take the casino operator private. With his return to the board, it seems that the idea is off the table or at least for now.
Crown Resorts had a turbulent year in 2016. In the final months, 18 staff members were arrested in China for promoting the company’s services in a manner that was deemed illegal by local authorities. The Crown Resorts employees, including senior executive Jason O’Connor, have been held by police since October and were formally arrested in late November.
The casino operator also announced that it would slash by more than a half its stake in Melco Crown Entertainment, a joint venture with Hong Kong-businessman Lawrence Ho’s Melco International Development. Said venture operates casino resorts in Macau and the Philippines. Crown Resorts reduced its stake in the company to just around 11.2%.
A previous plan for the construction of a multi-billion resort in Las Vegas was also scrapped in mid-December. Crown Resorts said that it had decided to put its global expansion plans on hold and to focus its attention on its domestic assets, those being Crown Melbourne, Crown Perth, and Crown Sydney (currently under construction).
It has also become known that Crown Resorts would not proceed with the previously proposed demerger of its domestic and international assets.
