Friday, June 13, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.
A resort company majority owned by the principality of Monaco has agreed to buy a 3.6 percent stake in Wynn Resorts Ltd. for $45 million.
Societe des Bains de Mer, a company traded on the Paris stock exchange, announced Thursday that it would buy 3 million shares of stock in the company building the 2,701-room Le Reve casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip on the former site of the Desert Inn hotel-casino.
Wynn Resorts and Societe des Bains also gave details today of a marketing agreement between the companies that will allow them to share a variety of assets, from databases to gourmet chefs, in their quest to win the world's best casino customers.
The deal is subject to approval by the government of Monaco, an independent city-state of 87,000 people on the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The government of Monaco is expected to reach a decision by June 20.
Le Reve, the most ambitious resort project to date by casino developer Steve Wynn, whose former company owned The Mirage and Bellagio, is scheduled to open in April 2005. With a $2.4 billion price tag, Le Reve would be the most elaborate casino-hotel ever built. Several floors of the hotel's main tower are under construction.
Wynn Resorts, which had its initial public offering in October, also is the majority owner of Wynn Macau, which last year won a concessionaire's license to build a casino in the Chinese Island city of Macau.
A Las Vegas-based gaming analyst says the Monaco marketing agreement is an opportunity for Wynn to introduce his new company to Europe's high-rollers.
"All of a sudden, Le Reve will have instant access to some really good players," said Dave Ehlers of Las Vegas Investment Advisors.
"Who knows how you run down some of these high-rollers," Ehlers said. "Now, Wynn has a contact in Monaco. A player may come in the door there and say, 'I'd really like to see that place in Macau,' or 'I'd really like to see that place in Las Vegas,' so now, he has access."
Ehlers said the strategy is similar to one Wynn successfully managed when he first opened The Mirage in 1989.
"It wasn't unusual for Mirage to have contacts in Asia and in Europe to attract players to Las Vegas," Ehlers said. "This is more of the same."
A term sheet about the strategic alliance between the two companies was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.
The agreement, which runs through 2010, allows both companies to promote each others' respective properties in magazines, newsletters, brochures and fliers and other marketing materials.
The companies also said they would cross-market special promotions, including Chinese New Year and the Grand Prix Monaco Formula 1 auto race.
The agreement also allows joint sales calls, the exchange of databases for direct mailings and joint training opportunities. The filing said it's possible that croupiers, dealers, supervisors and managers could be exchanged.
Exchanges of chefs between each companies' restaurants also is outlined and the agreement allows the sharing of purchasing expertise and the design and display of tables and games on casino floors. The companies also agreed to explore exchanges of entertainers.
Societe des Bains de Mer, since 1863, has had the exclusive rights to operate casinos in Monaco, located on the French Riviera coast of the Mediterranean Sea near the Italian border. The company owns and operates Le Casino de Monte-Carlo, Le Cafe de Paris, the Sun casino, the Hotel de Paris, the Hotel Hermitage, the Monte Carlo Beach Hotel, the Centre des Thermes Marins (Spa) and the Monte-Carlo Sporting Club.
"Monaco is one of the most recognized leisure destinations in the world and is well known for its casino operations," Wynn said. "This transaction coupled with our Las Vegas and Macau developments enhances our global marketing efforts at Wynn Resorts."
"Societe des Bains de Mer is pleased to have the opportunity to create a global marketing alliance with Wynn Resorts as well as investing alongside Steve Wynn," added Jean-Luc Biamonti, chairman of the board of Societe des Bains de Mer, in the jointly issued statement.
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