Vast new hotel on Adelaide's river. Photo / supplied
Vast new hotel on Adelaide's river. Photo / supplied
SkyCity Entertainment Group has denied it is contemplating selling its Adelaide casino, which it spent A$330 million ($365.3m) expanding.
An Australian media report this week said speculation was mounting over the future of that riverside operation. Sources suggested the company had hired an investment bank for a potential sale. Speculation is that Blackstone could be a buyer.
But a spokesman in this country flatly denied that.
"SkyCity has not engaged any investment banking services or initiated any corporate activity in relation to SkyCity Adelaide. We remain committed to the Adelaide property, in particular optimising the significant expansion completed in 2020," he said today.
The business spent around A$330m expanding in Adelaide, where it had an existing casino operation in an historic railway station.
SkyCity's new hotel property is to the left. Photo / supplied
That is the Australian Government agency responsible for detecting, deterring and disrupting criminal abuse of the financial system to protect the community from serious and organised crime.SkyCity, too, is the subject of an independent review after AUSTRAC identified potential money laundering at its Adelaide casino.
Last year, SkyCity announced that Austrac's regulatory operations team had identified potential serious non-compliance by SkyCity Adelaide with the Australian Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 and Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Instrument 2007 (No. 1).
The potential serious non-compliance included concerns relating to ongoing customer due diligence and adopting and maintaining an AML/CTF programme.
These concerns were identified in the course of a compliance assessment which AUSTRAC started in late 2019, focusing on the Adelaide management of customers identified as high risk and politically exposed persons.
The matter was referred to AUSTRAC's enforcement team, which initiated a formal enforcement investigation into matters.
SkyCity is due to announce its full-year result to June 30, 2022, next week.
Michael Ahearne, chief executive, said in July that trade has returned here and in Australia.
Ahearne was upbeat about how the business had recovered in the second half of its June 30, 2022, financial year.
Guests and customers were returning to hotel, gaming, restaurant and bar properties in New Zealand and Australia, he said.
"We're now in a new phase where people are coming back, borders are opening up, tourists are travelling and the second half of the year has definitely been better than the first," Ahearne said.
