Media and gaming giant Publishing and Broadcasting has made its first foray into the United States casino market, buying a US$250 million ($343 million) stake in a Las Vegas resort.

PBL said yesterday that it would buy a 19.6 per cent interest in Fontainebleau Resorts, the developer of a major new casino and resort property on the Las Vegas Strip and the owner of the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach.

“This transaction provides PBL Gaming with a first-class entrance into the US casino resort market, in particular the renowned Las Vegas Strip,” said PBL executive chairman James Packer.

Fontainebleau Las Vegas will include a casino, luxury hotel rooms, suites, condominium-hotel units, restaurants, nightclubs, a spa and meeting and convention facilities.

The resort will be developed on a 9.9ha site consisting of the former El Rancho Hotel and Algiers Hotel properties on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is expected to open in late 2009.

Fontainebleau Resorts is also undertaking a complete renovation of the 6.4ha Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach, Florida, which will re-open in 2008.

Shaw Stockbroking analyst Greg Fraser said it was inevitable PBL would expand into the US gaming market.

“I suspect there will be more [acquisitions] everywhere,” Fraser said.

PBL had plenty of money to spend following an injection of A$4.54 billion ($5.2 billion) into the company from the spin-off of some of its media assets into a 50/50 joint-venture company with private equity group CVC Asia Pacific last October.

In March this year, PBL set up a new international business development group to focus on overseas expansion in the gaming sector.

Fraser said the gaming division restructure had freed key executives to devote more time to pursuing overseas acquisitions.

“I would expect there to be numerous other announcements,” Fraser said.

There was plenty of opportunity in Las Vegas because the casino and resort market required periodic reinvestment and redevelopment, he said.

PBL is expanding its casino empire beyond Australia and Macau.

This month the company formed a joint venture with investment bank Macquarie Bank to buy Canadian casino operator Gateway Casinos Income Fund in a A$1.45 billion deal.

Gateway operates nine casinos across Vancouver, Edmonton and Alberta, and is one of western Canada’s biggest gaming operators.

PBL also plans to bid for new casino licences in Britain.

Information from: AAP via www.nzherald.co.nz

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