Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq:MPEL) (“
Melco
Crown Entertainment” or the “
Company”), a
developer, owner and operator of casino gaming and entertainment
casino resort facilities in Asia, announced today that it entered
into a share repurchase agreement with Crown Asia Investments Pty.
Ltd. (“
CAI”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crown
Resorts Limited (“
Crown”), pursuant to which it
will repurchase 155,000,000 ordinary shares (equivalent to
51,666,666 American depositary shares) from CAI. The aggregate
purchase price is $800,838,500, which represents a per share price
of $5.1667 (equivalent to approximately $15.50 per ADS). The price
per share represents a 1.6% premium to the closing price of the
ADSs on May 3, 2016 and was agreed between the parties in
consideration of prices and trading volumes of the ADSs in recent
weeks. The Company intends to pay the purchase price using cash on
hand. The repurchased shares will be canceled in due course
after completion of the transaction.
Prior to the transaction, CAI owned
approximately 559.3 million shares, or approximately 34.3%, of the
Company’s outstanding shares. Following the transaction, CAI will
own approximately 404.3 million shares, or approximately 27.4% of
the Company, and the shareholding of Melco International
Development Limited (“Melco”) and public
shareholders in the Company will increase to 37.9% and 34.7%,
respectively.
It is expected that following completion of the
transaction, Mr. James Packer will resign from his position as
Co-Chairman and will take up the position of Deputy Chairman of the
Company’s board of directors. Mr. Todd Nisbet will also
resign as a director of the Company. The Company’s board will
then comprise three Melco nominees, two Crown nominees and four
independent directors with Mr. Lawrence Ho presiding as
Chairman.
“Crown is strongly committed to remaining one of
Melco Crown Entertainment’s major shareholders,” stated Mr. Rob
Rankin, Crown’s Chairman. “This transaction forms part of
Crown’s ongoing capital management strategy.”
Lawrence Ho, the Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Melco Crown Entertainment said:
“The Company’s free cash flow generation and
strong balance sheet make this an opportune time for us to complete
this transaction, which is consistent with the purpose of our
existing share repurchase plan. Crown remains a major shareholder
in the Company and we look forward to continuing our
relationship.”
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking
statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor”
provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking
statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), in its annual report to
shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in
oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to
third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including
statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve
inherent risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors could
cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in
any forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not
limited to, (i) growth of the gaming market and visitation in Macau
and the Philippines, (ii) capital and credit market volatility,
(iii) local and global economic conditions, (iv) our anticipated
growth strategies, (v) gaming authority and other governmental
approvals and regulations, and (vi) our future business
development, results of operations and financial condition. In some
cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or
phrases such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “target”,
“aim”, “estimate”, “intend”, “plan”, “design”, “on track”,
“believe”, “potential”, “continue”, “is/are likely to” or
other similar expressions. Further information
regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is
included in the Company’s filings with the SEC. All information
provided in this release is as of the date of this release, and the
Company undertakes no duty to update such information, except as
required under applicable law.
About
Melco
Crown
Entertainment
Limited
Melco Crown Entertainment, with its American
depositary shares listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market
(NASDAQ:MPEL), is a developer, owner and operator of casino gaming
and entertainment casino resort facilities in Asia. Melco Crown
Entertainment currently operates Altira Macau
(www.altiramacau.com), a casino hotel located at Taipa, Macau and
City of Dreams (www.cityofdreamsmacau.com), an integrated urban
casino resort located in Cotai, Macau. Melco Crown Entertainment’s
business also includes the Mocha Clubs (www.mochaclubs.com), which
comprise the largest non-casino based operations of electronic
gaming machines in Macau. The Company also majority owns and
operates Studio City (www.studiocity-macau.com), a
cinematically-themed integrated entertainment, retail and gaming
resort in Cotai, Macau. In the Philippines, Melco Crown
(Philippines) Resorts Corporation’s subsidiary, MCE Leisure
(Philippines) Corporation, currently operates and manages City of
Dreams Manila (www.cityofdreams.com.ph), a casino, hotel, retail
and entertainment integrated resort in the Entertainment City
complex in Manila. For more information about Melco Crown
Entertainment, please visit www.melco-crown.com.
Melco Crown Entertainment has strong support
from both of its major shareholders, Melco International
Development Limited (“Melco”) and Crown Resorts
Limited (“Crown”). Melco is a listed company
on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and is
substantially owned and led by Mr. Lawrence Ho, who is Co-Chairman,
an Executive Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Melco
Crown Entertainment. Crown is a top-50 company listed on the
Australian Securities Exchange and led by Mr. James Packer, who is
also Co-Chairman and a Non-executive Director of Melco Crown
Entertainment.
For investment
community, please contact: Ross Dunwoody Vice
President, Investor Relations Tel: +853 8868 7575 or +852 2598 3689
Email: rossdunwoody@melco-crown.com
For media enquiry,
please contact:Maggie MaSenior Vice President, Corporate
Communications and Public RelationsTel: +853 8868 3767 or +852 3151
3767Email: maggiema@melco-crown.com
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