Supplier News
Latin America – Dreams and Sun complete merger with Panama approval
By Phil - 7 June 2016
The Panamanian Gaming Control Board has approved the merger between Dreams and Sun International.
When making the announcement the newly formed company announced that the current shareholders of Sun International Dreams would share the property with about 50 per cent each. Immediately after the merger, both sides agreed that Sun International would acquire a greater percentage of the shares, increasing its stake to 55 per cent through the purchase of securities of the merged company. However, the administration will be left to the current executive team of Dreams.
The company is also making progress in consolidating its debt and is in the process of restructuring its debts with a number of banks in Chile.
“This deal is a milestone in the history of Sun International. It gives the company great opportunities to achieve scale and reach outside Africa and diversify its earnings and risk,” Sun International CE Graeme Stephens said in a statement.
“Dreams provides a strong presence in Chile, an expansion strategy that has seen growth in Peru, which is complementary to Sun International’s expansion into Panama and Colombia, and, importantly, an executive management team that comes from Latin America and has significant operational experience in the region.
“Latin America holds tremendous potential and plans are well advanced to expand further in the region. We are already investigating exciting opportunities in Brazil, which is now opening to gambling, and have plans for expansion in Peru. Despite the current economic downturn, the gaming industry in Chile is still achieving good growth and there will be further opportunities in the next year or so to bid for additional licences in Chile.”
The new company will have a total of 13 properties distributed in four countries and a total of 6,650 slot machines and around 295 gaming tables. Dreams and Sun International finalised the merger between both companies creating Latin America’s largest gaming operator in September 2015. The merger will create a group valued at around US$400m. The Chilean Gaming Control Board (SJC) approved the merger last month however the companies also needed the approval of the Panamanian Gaming Control Board as Sun International operates the Ocean Sun casino in Panama.
