Bahamas casino operator to be sold for $3bn to chairman, investors
Kerzner International Ltd., operator of the Atlantis casino in the Bahamas, agreed to be sold for about $3 billion to a group that includes the company's chairman and chief executive officer. The shares had their biggest gain in more than three years.
Chairman Sol Kerzner, CEO Butch Kerzner, shareholder Istithmar PJSC and other investors will pay $76 a share, 8 percent more than the closing price on March 17. The transaction will take Kerzner International private and allow the father and son team to boost their stake to 25 percent.
The Kerzners will gain control of a company they built into the largest casino operator in the Caribbean, and the deal may allow them to fend off possible takeover bids amid a wave of mergers in the industry.
"There is immense global consolidation in this industry," said casino-industry analyst Eugene Christiansen of New York- based Christiansen Capital Advisors. "Everyone is a target. No one is safe. That might be in their minds."
Kerzner's shares jumped $9.07, or 13 percent, to $79.43 at 4:03 p.m., $3.43 above the offer, a sign investors expect a higher bid for the company. The stock rose 11 percent in the year through March 17.
The company operates the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, the Bahamas. The Kerzners control about 11 percent of the company's shares.
Chairman Sol Kerzner, CEO Butch Kerzner, shareholder Istithmar PJSC and other investors will pay $76 a share, 8 percent more than the closing price on March 17. The transaction will take Kerzner International private and allow the father and son team to boost their stake to 25 percent.
The Kerzners will gain control of a company they built into the largest casino operator in the Caribbean, and the deal may allow them to fend off possible takeover bids amid a wave of mergers in the industry.
"There is immense global consolidation in this industry," said casino-industry analyst Eugene Christiansen of New York- based Christiansen Capital Advisors. "Everyone is a target. No one is safe. That might be in their minds."
Kerzner's shares jumped $9.07, or 13 percent, to $79.43 at 4:03 p.m., $3.43 above the offer, a sign investors expect a higher bid for the company. The stock rose 11 percent in the year through March 17.
The company operates the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, the Bahamas. The Kerzners control about 11 percent of the company's shares.
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