Lawrence Ho takes control of Melco Crown Entertainment

James Packer and his company Crown Resorts have sold some 155 million shares in the joint venture with Macau based casino company Melco Crown Entertainment (MCE) to partner Lawrence Ho.

The sale reaping some $800 million for Crown now makes Lawrence Ho and Melco International the biggest single shareholder in MCE and the controlling partner. The move is understood to help Crown pay off an unexpected tax bill of $362 million back in Australia and also help in raising funding for Crowns casino resort development in Las Vegas which is having problems raising the funding required.

With the new sale of shares Crown is scaling back in Macau after a very successful partnership that in the past has helped with revenues when Australian casinos were struggling.

Following the sale James Packer will resign as MCE co-chairman and take a deputy chairman position on the board of directors, at the same time Crown exec VP Todd Nisbet will resign his MCE directorship and leave the board. Lawrence Ho will serve as MCE’s sole chairman, while the reconstituted board will consist of three Melco International nominees, two Crown nominees and four independent directors.

The share repurchase agreement with Melco International cuts Crown’s stake in MCE from 34.3 per cent to 27.4%. Melco International will become Melco Crown Entertainment single largest shareholder with a 37.9%