Melco Crown has announced the signing of an agreement to acquire a 60 percent share in the Macau Studio City project from eSun Holdings Limited.

This means the integrated gaming, retail and entertainment resort in Cotai will now be jointly developed by Melco Crown and New Cotai Holdings, LLC, an entity controlled by funds managed by Silver Point Capital, L.P. and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P.

Under the terms of the agreement, Melco Crown will acquire from an affiliate of eSun Holdings Limited – East Asia Satellite Television – a 60 percent interest in the Cyber One Group, the developer of the Macau Studio City project.

East Asia Satellite Television was owned by eSun and Singaporean developer CapitalLand. Prior to Melco Crown’s announcement, CapitaLand said it had sold its 20 percent stake in Macau Studio City to eSun Holdings for about S$104.5 million (MOP677 million).

New Cotai Holdings will retain its 40 percent indirect equity interest in the Cyber One Group.

Melco Crown will pay the affiliate of eSun US$260 million (MOP2.1 billion) for its stake and will further pay New Cotai US$100 million.

Lawrence Ho, co-chairman and chief executive officer of Melco Crown, stated in a press release, “The proposed acquisition of a majority stake in the Macau Studio City project provides a unique opportunity for Melco Crown to meaningfully increase its footprint in Macau and generate incremental value for shareholders.

“We remain bullish on Macau’s prospects and believe high quality new supply, such as Macau Studio City, will continue to drive incremental demand and broaden the appeal of the market. The property’s theme and demographic focus are designed to be clearly differentiated from our existing portfolio of assets, as well as from our competitor’s facilities in the market.”

According to Mr Ho, the project’s location is a “tremendous competitive advantage, adjacent to the Lotus Bridge and a key stop on the planned light rail system.”

Although he didn’t disclose any timetable for the opening of the property, Mr Ho said “we believe Macau Studio City’s existing land grant and previously completed site work will allow us to significantly expedite its construction timetable.”