Has the gaming industry seen the last of Steve Wynn? News broke late Thursday that Steve Wynn sold his remaining shares of Wynn Resorts, cashing out of the latest hotel company he created 16 years ago.
Wynn sold the remainder of his stake as part of a deal with two long-term institutional investors in the company. The value of the 8 million shares at US$175 a share is estimated at US$1.4 billion. On the previous day Wynn, who was recently accused of sexual misconduct, sold about 4.1 million shares for US$738.9 million.
“I can give a lot of Steve Wynn-centric reasons for the sale,” Alan Woinski, editor of Gaming Industry Daily Report and president of Gaming USA Corp., told HOTELS on Friday morning. “He will need the money considering he never received a golden parachute when he stepped down. He could have a lot of legal fees and, of course, there always is the chance that Steve Wynn could buy or build another casino, which most likely would be outside the U.S. if he were to do it.”
Then there is the Trump/China trade war. “Since he was so close to both sides, could he not like what he is seeing as Wynn’s primary operations are in Macau?” Woinski added.
The most likely reason Wynn sold, Woinski suggested, is that he had buyers and he just wanted to cut all ties with the company.
Separately, Wynn Resorts said it would issue a 4.9% stake (5.3 million shares) to Macau’s Galaxy Entertainment for approximately US$1 billion. Galaxy is one of six licensed operators in the world’s largest gambling hub of Macau, and competes with Wynn, Sands China, MGM China and Melco Resorts.
It appears investors like the news as at 10 a.m. central time on Friday Wynn stock was up about 3%.
The news of Steve Wynn’s sale comes a week after Wynn Resorts said he and his former wife, Elaine Wynn, who has a 9.26% stake, had scrapped a shareholder agreement that prevented them from selling their stakes.