Shares in Crown Resorts have surged 10 per cent amid reports that billionaire James Packer wants to return some of the casinos operator's assets to private ownership.
A Bloomberg report says Mr Packer's private company, Consolidated Press Holdings, which holds a controlling stake in Crown, is in talks with private equity firms and pension funds about a possible joint bid for some of Crown's assets.
Consolidated Press Holdings declined to comment on Wednesday.
A spokeswoman for Crown was not immediately able to comment.
Shares in Crown closed $1.12 higher at $11.77 after hitting an intra-day high of $12.23.
Crown has a market capitalisation of around $7.8 billion.
IG market strategist Evan Lucas said Crown shares had risen sharply as investors speculated on a "payday" from Mr Packer.
Mr Packer stepped down as chairman of Crown in August but remains a dominant figure on the board.
Mr Lucas said the question was how much of Crown did Mr Packer want.
Would Mr Packer want Crown's joint venture operations in Macau and the Philippines, Melco Crown Entertainment?
Or would he chase Crown's Australian casinos in Melbourne and Perth and the luxury casino-hotel under development at Barangaroo in Sydney?
Crown also has operations in the US, which include a casino project in Las Vegas.
"There's a lot of speculation. But the market's expecting some sort of payday in terms of the capital returning to shareholders," Mr Lucas said.
Mr Lucas said Mr Packer had had a tough year, watching Crown's share price sink from around $16 in February.
"He's been monstered by Echo Entertainment (now called The Star Entertainment Group) and slowing demand from the Chinese consumer - the area that he believes is the future," Mr Lucas said.
Crown lost to The Star Entertainment Group this year in a battle to win the rights to develop a new luxury casino resort at Queen's Wharf in Brisbane.
Also, Crown's profits from its joint-venture casino resorts in Macau have been hit by a downturn in play by rich VIP gamblers as the Chinese government stamps down on corruption.
Share
