SkyCity Opens Door to Group Sale as Shareholder-Value Review Widens

^{SkyCity Entertainment Group operates casinos in Auckland, Hamilton, Queenstown and Adelaide. (Photo: Sids1 / Wikimedia Commons)}

SkyCity Entertainment Group told the NZX on 30 September 2026 that its board will now evaluate a broader range of options to lift shareholder value, including formal engagement with interested parties, after two unsolicited approaches earlier this year failed to reflect what it considers the company's underlying worth.

In the market release published on the NZX, SkyCity said the board 'continues to believe that the current share price and previously disclosed approaches do not fully reflect the underlying value of the SkyCity Group,' and that the non-binding indicative proposals it received earlier in 2026 'have not resulted in improved proposals.'

Two Approaches Already Rejected

SkyCity disclosed on 25 August 2026 that it had received unsolicited approaches from two parties interested in acquiring the group. The board unanimously judged those proposals inadequate and told both parties it was not prepared to proceed on the terms offered.

Talks with both parties have continued since then, the company said, though no improved proposals have been received. SkyCity has appointed investment bank UBS and law firm Chapman Tripp to help it engage with interested parties on any potential transaction and to evaluate other opportunities, while stressing 'there is no certainty that this process will result in any transaction or other outcome.'

The update follows a run of asset sales SkyCity has already carried out this year, having cut around 200 corporate roles in New Zealand as part of a cost-reduction programme targeting NZ$30 million in FY27 savings rising to NZ$70 million in FY28.

Adelaide and Online Licence Still in Play

SkyCity said it is targeting NZ$275 million to NZ$300 million in total proceeds from its asset monetisation programme before the end of 2026, having already banked NZ$74.5 million from selling its commercial properties. It is in advanced, exclusive talks to sell The Grand Hotel, with a binding agreement expected shortly, and is separately preparing to launch a formal UBS-led sale process for its Adelaide business.

'The Board's objective is to maximise value for all SkyCity shareholders.'

The company is also still bidding for one of New Zealand's new online gambling licences, part of a wider shake-up of the country's online casino market as the government moves to formally regulate the sector. That auction process is due to conclude on 14 October 2026. SkyCity said it would update shareholders further at its annual meeting on 21 October 2026.

A Difficult Year for the Group

The update comes after a difficult run for SkyCity on the NZX. The company's Adelaide business remains under regulatory scrutiny following an independent review, and SkyCity said it is now well advanced in negotiating a binding agreement with South Australia's Consumer and Business Services regulator, consistent with a non-binding heads of agreement it announced on 19 June 2026, to resolve the outstanding regulatory matters that review raised.

SkyCity also confirmed that underlying first-quarter trading is in line with the outlook it has previously given the market, and that it has made better than expected progress on its cost-savings programme. It said it will provide a fuller trading update, alongside progress on its other initiatives, at the annual meeting.