Australia's Unitab grabs strategic stake in Sky City

Queensland's Unitab has reportedly taken a strategic stake in casino operator Sky City, possibly as a prelude to a takeover.

Sky City shares rose 19c to $4.80 on hefty turnover yesterday with Unitab's grab of a 0.5 per cent stake behind the buying brokers said, according to a report in The Australian newspaper today.

Sky City shares gained a further 20c by early afternoon today taking them to a four month high of $5.00.

About 800,000 Sky City shares changed hands in Australia yesterday while nearly double that were traded in New Zealand.

There was turnover of about 500,000 Sky City shares on the NZSX by late morning today.

Forsyth Barr analyst Jeremy Simpson said an attempt at a takeover of Sky City had been a possibility for some time now.

"It's got an open register and various strategic assets so it doesn't surprise me that people are looking at it."

The Australasian gambling sector had already seen "huge consolidation" in the last three or four years with Sky City itself buying casinos in Adelaide and Darwin.

Sources spoken to by The Australian questioned if Unitab would want to gain full control of Sky City, because the company did not have casino management experience.

Unitab operates TABs in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory, as well as running internet betting and an extensive gambling management service in NSW and Queensland.

- NZPA