As it prepares for the opening of its newest casino resort, City of Dreams, in the Cotai region of Macau, Melco Crown announced last week that its first property will be re-themed as Altira Macau. The brand will become a company staple and enable the company to choose from two solid brands.
The company said the decision will strengthen the company, and the re-branding to Altira Macau is the final step in the strategic repositioning of the property that began in August 2007.
At the same time, the Crown Macau will become a part of City of Dreams, which also contains a Hard Rock Hotel and a Grand Hyatt.
In the company’s view, Altira focuses on Asian rolling-chip customers and provides a unique and dedicated gaming environment to this discriminating group of players.
Lawrence Ho, the company’s co-chairman and CEO, stated, “We are excited to add Altira to our stable of brands, and hope to leverage this brand throughout Asia, as attractive opportunities arise. In our portfolio approach to development, Altira Macau provides a unique and distinctly Asian-oriented proposition to the dedicated rolling-chip customer in Macau.”
By transferring the Crown brand to City of Dreams, Ho is confident that it will become the company flagship.
“City of Dreams, our integrated urban entertainment resort, remains on track to open in early June,” he says. “City of Dreams will focus primarily on the emerging premium mass and overnight-stay guest, and I am confident that it will raise the bar in Macau for this segment of the market. With its market-segment focus, as well as world-class restaurants and retail, City of Dreams will be an excellent representation of the standards of luxury and service for which the Crown brand is famous.”
Meanwhile, Melco Crown announced it is launching an offering of 15 million American depositary shares, which each represent one ordinary share of the company. The offering also includes about 56.3 million additional ordinary shares.
