Melco Resorts & Entertainment says it will repurchase 40,373,076 ordinary shares from its parent company for US$169.8 million (MOP1.37 billion).
According to a filing to the Hong Kong Exchange, Melco Resorts & Entertainment – a subsidiary indirectly owned by Hong Kong-listed Melco International Development via Melco Leisure – entered into a share repurchase agreement with Melco Leisure – another subsidiary of Melco International but wholly-owned.
Under the agreement, Melco Resorts agreed to repurchase 40,373,076 ordinary shares for a price of US$169.8 million, representing approximately 2.95 per cent of Melco Resorts’ issued shares as at 8 March.
Before the share repurchase, Melco Leisure holds ordinary shares about 53.12 per cent of Melco Resorts’ issued shares. The share buyback will lead the former’s interest in the latter to go down to 51.69 per cent.
The directors of Melco International Development consider the re-acquisition to be an opportunity to improve the liquidity of the company, the filing said.
For the financial year ending 31 December 2022, Melco Resorts’ net loss stood at about US$930.5 million, up further from USD811.8 million a year earlier.
In March last year, Melco Resorts granted a US$250-million revolving loan facility to its parent for a period of 12 months.
