Aquis Group acquires Casino Canberra for $6m

Sunday 23rd of November 2014

Aquis Casino Acquisitions has agreed to acquire the Casino Canberra from Casinos Austria for $6 million and the acquisition is expected to be completed before Christmas this year. Casino Canberra is located on the eastern side of the Australian capital's Central Business District in Glebe Park.

Originally the acquisition was conditional upon the Aquis Group receiving gaming regulatory approvals from the ACT government and a wider offer to buy the ASX-listed Reef Casino Trust. However Aquis has only managed to acquire 82.8 percent of shares in its takeover bid for the Cairns based resort instead of the 90 percent required in the Bidder’s Statement. A spokesperson for the group has said that the offer for Reef Casino Trust would not be extended beyond the November 28. deadline and it is therefore likely to be unsuccessful.

The ACT Gambling and Racing Commission has indicated to Aquis that it may be possible

to grant the ACT gaming regulatory approvals in 2014. Therefore, since it is logistically impossible for the OLGR to grant approvals by Nov. 28, Aquis has agreed that the acquisition of Casino Canberra is no longer conditional on the RCT takeover offer.

In a statement, the group commented, “Aquis has tremendous confidence in the future of Casino Canberra and has agreed with Casinos Austria that the acquisition of the facility is no longer conditional on the RCT takeover offer. Through the due diligence process for the broader transaction we have gained a strong understanding of the Canberra facility and its potential. As a committed, active owner for the long term we will be looking at various options for improvements and upgrades and look forward to working with local stakeholders to build a facility everyone in the ACT can be proud of”.

The Aquis Group is seeking approval for 750 gaming tables and 1500 electronic gaming machines at Yorkeys Knob in Queensland for its Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort.

Tony Fung is the chairman of the Aquis Group and is also known by his Cantonese name Fung Wing Cheung. Fung is a former chairman of the Hong Kong-based financial services company Sun Hung Kai & Co Ltd, founded in 1969 by Mr Fung’s father, property developer Fung King Hey.