Investors Mutual boosts stake in SkyCity

Investors Mutual boosts stake in SkyCity on year low share price

By Edwin Mitson

Nov. 3 (BusinessDesk) - Investors Mutual, the Australian equity fund manager, has increased its stake in the casino operator, SkyCity Entertainment Group to 6.25 percent, documents filed with the NZX show.

The investor now holds 40,793,496 of the 652,750,845 shares on issue for SkyCity following a series of purchases since Oct. 10. It had not updated the market on a movement of a substantial holding since August 2013, when it held 29,545,487 of the 576,958,340 shares on issue, or 5.12 percent.

It spent $2.9 million to buy 680,000 shares on Oct. 10, but shares in SkyCity fell sharply on Oct. 17 after it emerged that the Chinese authorities had detained local employees of SkyCity's Australian rival, Crown Resorts, in order to crack down on Chinese high-rollers traveling abroad.

On Oct. 24, the Australian Financial Review published an article suggesting SkyCity could merge with the Star Entertainment Group, which operators casinos in Australia, including in Sydney.

From that day, until Nov. 1, Investors Mutual spent a total of $10.78 million on SkyCity shares, including more than $2 million on Oct. 31.

Between Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, SkyCity's share price on the NZX was broadly flat, closing at $3.90 on Oct. 25 and $3.85 on Nov. 1, levels not seen since October last year.

Shares in SkyCity are down 1.8 percent or 7 cents in trading today to $3.74, underperforming the broader NZX50. The stock has now fallen 13 percent since the start of the year.

No one from Investors Mutual was immediately available for comment.

(BusinessDesk)

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