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Dubai will seek up to 20% stake in casino group
By Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles, FT.com site
Published: Aug 22, 2007
Dubai World plans to increase its stake in MGM Mirage to as much as 20 per cent once the company has secured gaming licences from US authorities in jurisdictions where the Las Vegas group has casinos.
Sultan Bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World, told the FT in an interview that market conditions would also determine when the group raised its stake.
"We would like to get to 20 per cent, provided the price is good, " he said. "We aim to reach that level after we get the gaming approval. "
Dubai World is the investment arm of the Dubai government and owns a broad range of property, retail and leisure assets, including the Barney's retail chain and the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise liner.
Last year the group acquired P&O, the ports operator, through its DP World subsidiary. However, it disposed of P&O's US operations following a political row in the US about them being controlled by an Arab, government-owned company.
Dubai World has continued to make investments in US property and retail assets since the row, however. "When we were dealing with the issue in Washington we were investing heavily in Manhattan, " said Mr Bin Sulayem. The group bought 230 Park Avenue, 280 Park Avenue and the city's Mandarin Oriental hotel.
"Our philosophy and strategy is: if we are in the right place in the US market then we will not be affected by business cycles. How can you go wrong on Park Avenue? "
Meanwhile, Las Vegas is "the entertainment capital of the world. We want to be in Las Vegas in a big way ".
He saidMGM's expertise in operating hotels with thousands of rooms would be useful to Dubai World's ambitions in China and India, where it is investing in malls, hotels and residential developments. "With a deal like this we can add a lot of value to each other. "
CityCenter, MGM's $7bn residential and gaming development on the Las Vegas Strip "can be replicated " around the world, he said. "We can take it to new places - it's a fantastic idea. "
Gambling is forbidden in Dubai under Sharia law. However, Mr Bin Sulayem said Sharia law did not apply to the company's investments. "Our business has nothing to do with Sharia law. "
He has been visiting Las Vegas since 1980. He added that he did not visit Las Vegas to gamble. "I'm not a gambler, I'm an investor. I like to know where my money is coming from. "
http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?query...nclick_check=1
وكانت الشركة قد أصدرت في السابق صكوكاً إسلامية بقيمة 3.5 مليار دولار، مانحة حامليها فرصة تحويل قسم منها إلى أسهم عند طرح الشركة للاكتتاب.
وفي حال صدقت التقارير الأولية حول حجم الاكتتاب فسيكون الثاني من حيث الحجم على مستوى الخليج بعد اكتتاب شركة الاتصالات السعودية، عام 2003 والتي جمعت حوالي 4.1 مليار دولار.
http://www.elaph.com/ElaphWeb/Econom.../10/273546.htm
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