Wynn Resorts moves forward with Asian stock offering

By Steve Green

Friday, Sept. 11, 2009 | 8:42 a.m.

Wynn Resorts Ltd.'s plan for a stock offering involving its Asian hotel and gaming operations advanced Friday, with Wynn filing a disclosure statement detailing financial results and development plans for the Chinese gambling district of Macau.

Also, Dow Jones Newswires reported Las Vegas-based Wynn had received approval from Hong Kong regulators for the plan: an initial public stock offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in which Wynn would raise up to $1 billion by selling a 20 percent stake in its Macau operations.

Marketing for the IPO is to begin Sept. 21, with the shares to begin trading Oct. 9, Dow Jones reported.

Wynn stock advanced $2.99, or 4.81 percent, to $65.14 on the news in early trading today on the New York Stock Exchange. The news came one day after Nevada regulators reported gaming win on the Las Vegas Strip -- where Wynn has two big resorts -- declined in July for the 19th consecutive month as the stubborn U.S. recession continued to deter spending in the U.S. gambling capital.

On Friday, Wynn said its newly-formed Wynn Macau Ltd. subsidiary posted a lengthy "Web Proof Information Pack" on the Web site of the Hong Kong exchange in connection with the proposed listing of the shares of Wynn Macau on the exchange. Wynn said information in the report is in draft form and is subject to change.

The report filed with the exchange noted:

--Wynn operates the Mobil Five Star, 600-room Wynn Macau, which opened in September 2006 at the center of casino activities on the urban Macau peninsula.

--The 400-suite, $650 million Encore at Wynn Macau is under construction and when open in the first half of 2010 will complement and be integrated with the existing operations at Wynn Macau.

--Wynn has identified a development site of approximately 52 acres in Cotai, a strip of reclaimed land that connects Macau’s islands of Taipa and Coloane. Palo Real Estate Co. Ltd., which will be a Wynn subsidiary, has submitted an application to the Macau government to obtain the right to lease this parcel.

Wynn's filing noted Macau is the world’s largest gaming market as measured by gross gaming revenue and is the only location in China to offer legalized casino gaming. The Macau gaming market generated HK $105.6 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2008, more than double the HK $46.7 billion generated by the Las Vegas Strip during the same period.

Wynn earlier reported that Wynn Macau generated revenue of U.S. $410.4 million during the three months ending June 30, down from $529.9 million in the year-ago period. For the 2009 period, the Chinese government restricted travel from the mainland to Macau and the worldwide recession reduced activity in China.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the property were $117.2 million during the 2009 quarter, down from $155.2 million in the 2008 quarter.