Julius Baumann
29 May 2009
Johannesburg — GAMING group Peermont has been selected by the Mauritian State Investment Corporation as the preferred bidder for a 51% controlling shareholding in the Casinos of Mauritius and the management of the casinos, its first major foray outside of SA.
CEO Anthony Puttergill said yesterday this would help the group to diversify their operations geographically and reduce their reliance on Emperors Palace, the group's flagship property.
Outside of SA, Peermont owns and operates several properties in Botswana, including The Grand Palm Hotel Casino Convention Resort and the Mondior hotel in Gaborone; the Metcourt hotel as well as the Sedibeng Casino in Francistown and Syringa Casino in Selebi Phikwe.
Puttergill said the purchase price could not be disclosed due to the confidentiality agreements signed by the parties. However, giving guidance of the size of the deal, Puttergill said that Casinos of Mauritius turned over about R250m last year, about 10% of Peermont's annual revenue.
Talks began as far back as 2007 when Peermont first bid for a stake in the Mauritian group. "We were initially not the preferred bidder but we were asked to resubmit our bid a few months ago after the initial front-runner and the Mauritian government could not agree on the terms of the transaction," said Puttergill.
The deal is expected to be finalised by July and the transaction will be financed using Peermont's own cash and credit lines secured through a consortium of banks led by Standard Bank Mauritius.
Puttergill expects to take over the management of the casinos by the beginning of next year.
Casinos of Mauritius owns and operates five casinos on the island, with 543 slot machines and 85 gaming tables. One of the casinos is located in Port Louis's Le Caudan Waterfront and another in Trou-aux Biches, the upmarket resort town on the north coast of the island. All five operations are pure gaming venues.
"Initially we plan to impose our operating standards on the casinos and tighten up the operations. We will also upgrade the equipment as much of it is extremely old ," said Puttergill. "However, long term, we believe there is significant scope to expand and improve the existing operations ."
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