JKH in talks with two international operators to run casino
John Keells Holdings (JKH), this week securing shareholder approval for a 40-billion-rupee rights issue to fund a mega mixed development project, is discussing with two international gaming operators to run its intended casino.
“We are discussing with two international operators at the moment,” Ajit Gunewardene, JKH Deputy Chairman told the Business Times at the company’s new headquarters adjoining the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel, which it owns. He said that as the company hasn’t got knowledge or the expertise to run gaming operations, they had decided to employ an international operator.
While there was widespread speculation that one operator JKH is talking to is the Wynn Resorts Limited, which is a developer and operator of high end hotels and casinos, Mr. Gunewardene didn’t want to comment on market guesswork.
The company, which has some 857.9 million shares in issue saw 640 million shares saying ‘yes’ to the rights issue at Wednesday’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). The money will go to fund the US$820 million integrated development project on the Beira waterfront bordering its former headquarters.
“One shareholder with 5,300 shares who had asked the management at the company’s earlier EGM to approve the integrated development project whether there will be a rights issue, had said that the management had not informed of such a move at the time and that he won’t vote for this rights issue,” another shareholder who was at the meeting said.
Group directors clarified the issues saying that before the project was approved by the shareholders at the (first) EGM, they had not decided on a rights issue. “They said that the management couldn’t discuss a rights issue as it was price sensitive information and that a board decision wasn’t made till the project was agreed upon by the shareholders,” the shareholder added.
Directors, responding to another concern that the company had not used up money raised in an earlier rights issue and that it was used only to collect interest, said this was incorrect and showed a list of where the money was invested in.
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