The company has agreed to purchase the shares at a price of $175 per share, resulting in a total share spend of over $975m.
In a statement confirming the investment, Galaxy Entertainment Group Vice Chairman Francis Lui said that “This is a unique opportunity to acquire an investment in a globally recognized entertainment corporation with exceptionally high quality assets and a significant development pipeline.”
Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox added: “It is an honour to have such a distinguished company as Galaxy Entertainment as a shareholder which shares many of the same core operating philosophies and values.”
With this acquisition, Galaxy Entertainment Group is now well positioned to launch a push into the upcoming Japanese integrated resort market, which is currently attracting interest from casino developers from around the world.
Wynn Resorts is already a brand name in Macau, where it operates three hotels and the business could use this market exposure as a springboard to enter Japan.
At the same time Wynn Resorts announced that two long term institutional investors in the business have agreed to purchase former CEO Steve Wynn’s remaining 8 million shares in Wynn Resorts also at $175 per share.
The news comes just a day after Wynn agreed to sell 4.1 million of his shares in the business that he ran for over sixteen years, at a purchase price of $716m.
Yesterday’s deal reduced his stake in the business to 7.8%, while today’s deal effectively ends Steve Wynn’s long standing involvement in the company which bears his name.
