Chinese billionaire Tony Fung’s interest in becoming a major player in Australia’s growing gambling market went to another level after reports indicated that he had offered $214 million to purchase Reef Casino Trust, the company that owns the only casino in Cairns.
The man is serious, fellas. And he’s willing to show the money to prove it.
The billionaire son of one of the founders of Hong Kong conglomerate Sun Hung Kai & Co. Ltd, Fung’s interest in entering Australia’s gambling market was sparked by news back in August that he was planning to build a AUD$4.2 billion integrated resort and casino in Cairns.
Apparently, proposing to build a gargantuan resort and casino was only the first step in his plan to splash his name and business Down Under. Putting $214 million on the table to buy Reef Casino Trust is second step on what’s shaping up to be a serious interest from the Chinese tycoon.
The man wants this pretty bad, doesn’t he?
Fung’s offer was met with exultation by Reef Casino, which saw its shares spike 44 percent to six-year highs of $4.10 after the announcement.
Although Fung’s interest has yet to be approved by Queensland’s state government, it does mark the clearest indication that somebody is more than willing to bring the boom back to Queensland, an Australian territory that’s looking into driving up its tourism and gambling industries.
Meetings between Reef Casino and Fung’s Aquis Casino Acquisitions Pty Ltd have even progressed to the extent that the trust company said in a statement that it had received a “non-binding proposal” to buy all of the company’s shares, priced at $4.354 per share, 53 percent more per share than the company’s record closing price.
As part of the proposal, Reef is requiring Aquis to also buy Casino Canberra, something that we think Fung won’t have any problems with in the bigger picture. After all, his company has already started discussions with government officials in Queensland regarding the kind of regulatory process it has to go through to secure a casino license in the region.
Fung has made no bones about his plans to be a major player in the Australian gambling market, and this proposal to buy Reed Casino Trust is enough indication that the man is putting his money where his mouth is.
