Aquis Queensland mega resort plans in doubt

Monday 24th of November 2014

Plans by Aquis Casino Acquisitions for an $8.15 billion ($7 billion) mega resort in the northern Australian state of Queensland have been thrown into doubt after the group failed to seal a separate $276 million deal to take over Reef Casino Trust.

Aquis said that while it’s committed to its investment in Queensland, the takeover of RCT had always been an essential part of its plan for the integrated resort at Yorkeys Knob.

Last month Aquis chairman Tony Fung said the acquisition would allow the company to start working immediately to attract visitors from Asia and develop the business.

“From a business perspective, it would be impossible to start from scratch,” Fung said at the time.

In a regulatory filing, the company said it plans to undertake a strategic review of its strategic plans and development timetable over the coming months.

The RCT deal lapsed mainly because the company was unable to seal the necessary regulatory approvals within the given timeframe.

It said that should the Queensland Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation finish its probity reviews in the short term it may be willing to renegotiate a takeover of RCT in 2015.

Meanwhile, the group plans to list Casino Canberra on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The group pushed ahead with plans to buy the casino in the national capital for $6 million, a $3 million discount to the original price, despite the purchase being contingent on the RCT transaction.

“If the transaction is completed on schedule, Casino Canberra will provide Aquis with a vehicle that can be floated on the HKSE in 2016 and facilitate the raising of debt and equity capital to fund Aquis at Yorkeys Knob,” it said.