A R1.2bn payday for Sun International’s plans
With its SA business now owing R9.2bn, the casino operator will use its Latin American windfall to slash debt
Sun International’s top brass must be hoping that the planned listing of its Latin American casino arm is enough of a sideshow to distract the market from its morbid fascination with the gaming giant’s stack of debt in SA. Last week Sun detailed plans to sell down its 65% stake in Sun Dreams — which operates mainly in Chile with smaller operations in Peru, Panama and Argentina — by offloading a 15% stake to the existing 35% shareholder Nueva Inversiones Pacifico Sur Limitada (Pacifico). This will make Sun and Pacifico equal partners as Dreams heads towards an IPO in Chile. If it seems that the light is dimming on Sun’s Latin American dream, this isn’t the case. Sun disclosed it has negotiated a "pre-emptive right" to buy back Pacifico’s shares should it decide to sell its interest in Dreams. Still, the deal is slightly curious. For one thing, Sun bought an additional 10% stake in Dreams as recently as May last year, which took its stake to a commanding 65%. The cost of that 10% stak...
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