Mauritius- Government chooses Preemont to control 51% of its Casinos business.
Posted on May 29, 2009 - Filed Under Gambling News, NEWS
As a complete surprise to the Preemont group the Mauritian Government has given this gaming tycoon 51% complete shareholding in the Casinos of Mauritius and the management of its casinos.
Preemont had placed a bid in 2007 for the Mauritian group, and were however not the preferred choice by the Mauritian Government. They were asked to submit the bid once again a few months ago, the reason being the preferred bidder’s terms and conditions were not accepted by the government.
Preemont currently owns property outside of SA and still runs The Grand Palm Hotel Casino Convention Resort and the Mondior Hotel in Gaborone, the Metcourt hotel and the Sedibeng Casino in Francistown and Syringa Casino in Selebi Phikwe.
CEO of Preemont, Anthony Puttergil said that this deal would reduce their dependency on The Emperor’s Palace and would be a significant expansion geographically, and the challenge would be fun. Last year the Casinos in Mauritius churned out around R250 million which is just 10% of Peermont’s revenue. When asked, Puttergil did not disclose the bid amount, stating that it was confidential.
Peermont will be financing the deal by pooling in their cash and through their credit lines, by a group of Banks in Mauritius after the deal is finalized in July.
With the Casino of Mauritius owning and operating five casinos, 85 gaming tables, 543 slot machines as well as a casino in Port Louis’s Le Caudan Waterfront and another in Trou-aux Biches. Puttergil aims to take up the management of casinos by next year.
Puttergil sees well for the gaming industry in Mauritius and looks at getting in newer machines as the ones currently in use are totally outdated. He also plans on introducing and imposing the operating standards they follow in casinos as well as tighten up the laws a great deal. This will see a significant improvement in the Mauritian gaming industry with better service and the latest technology in gaming machines.
Although these reforms will definitely take a while, Puttergil is all game for it, as he feels that this is the only way to improve the operations.
Here’s hoping to see the gaming industry to boom in Mauritius.
