Packer rumored to be considering latest overseas exit

James Packer

According to California’s Variety, citing rumors from Hollywood, billionaire casino owner James Packer is looking to sell his stake in film production and financing firm, RatPac.

If confirmed, the move will be Packer’s latest effort to remove his assets from overseas holdings in order to double down on his domestic casino operations in Australia.

However, a RatPac representative denied the possibility of a sale and told Variety that “James [Packer] is not going anywhere.”

“James is very involved. He and Brett [Ratner] are partners [… and] nothing gets done without the two of them. They are very good friends.”

RatPac was co-founded by Packer and U.S. director Brett Ratner. Its track record includes films such as Gravity, Suicide Squad and The Lego Movie.

Steve Mnuchin, another major investor in RatPac, recently agreed to sell his stake after he was named as a potential U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Donald Trump.

An industry insider allegedly told Variety that there are parties potentially interested in buying out both Packer and Mnuchin’s stakes.

Crown Resorts, which Packer owns, sold a USD800 million stake in Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd in May 2016. Melco Crown operates several integrated resorts in Macau, such as Studio City and City of Dreams.

The decision was predated for several months by an ongoing controversy in mainland China, in which 17 Crown employees were detained on gaming charges.

The rumors of a withdrawal from RatPac coincide with news late last week of a potential multimillion-dollar lawsuit leveled against Crown. The lawsuit could seek compensation for a double-digit decline in the company’s share price following the employee detentions.

According to various media reports, lawyers have asserted that Crown failed to disclose to investors the level of risk associated with the arrests. The company’s stocks dropped a further 1.1 percent on Friday in reaction to the rumored lawsuit.

Packer, who increased the amount of direct control he has over the board of Australia’s Crown Resorts last month, recently withdrew the company from a Las Vegas casino project .

This repositioning is part of Packer’s strategy to refocus his efforts on the domestic casino market, chiefly a large integrated resort planned for Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Barangaroo. He told Australian media last month that he wants the resort to make Sydney residents “proud”. DB