Australia's Crown Resorts To Spin Off International Biz

(RTTNews) - Australia-based casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd., intends to separate its international operations from its "high performing" Australian businesses.

The company, which is majority owned by Australian business mogul James Packer, said the spin off will maximize shareholder value and ensure a more efficient ownership structure for Crown's assets.

"The Board has for some time been looking to address what we believe to be a material undervaluation by the market of Crown Resorts' assets, due to a traditional consolidated (or amalgamated) structure. In particular, we believe that Crown Resorts' extremely high quality Australian resorts are not being fully valued and the Crown Resorts share price has been highly correlated to the performance of its investment in Macau," said Chairman Robert Rankin.

The new created company will include Crown Resorts' investments in Macau affiliate Melco Crown Entertainment, in which it still holds a 27.4% interest valued at about A$2.7 billion.

The new company will also include Crown's investment in the Alon development site on the Las Vegas Strip, its 50% stake in U.K. casino operator Aspers Group, its 20% interest Japanese restaurant company Nobu and its investment in Caesars Growth Partners.

Crown said the spin off will provide investors with greater investment choice and the ability to tailor their investment towards their preferred company.

Following the separation, each company will have its own Board of Directors and management team, while Robert Rankin will be Chairman of both companies.