Suncity acquires more of Summit Ascent, setting up Russian expansion
Suncity Group continues on its path to build a more global company. The Macau casino junket company has bought an equity position of Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd, reports GGRAsia.
Previously, Suncity already owned a 3.29% stake in Summit Ascent. No word yet on how much more they’ve bought into the company. They announced, “Suncity Group Holdings has successfully acquired partial stakes of Summit Ascent and will participate in the second phase of Tigre de Cristal Resort and Casino in Russia.”
Summit Ascent operates the Tigre de Cristal casino nearby Russia’s east port city of Vladivostok. The casino is just 31 miles from the city, and is promoted by Primorsky Krai Development Corp, a government-owned tourism company.
Summit Ascent has their corporate headquarters in Hong Kong, immediately next door to Suncity. Being that close, it must have been nice to save on transportation costs and avoid traffic to negotiate the deal.
The deal makes a lot of sense for Suncity, as they continue to broaden their business into tourism deals with Asian casino operators. Vladivostok is a short flight from China, making it another lucrative destination for the junket operator.
Suncity has a lot to gain from a closer relationship with the Vladivostok casino. They recently announced a deal with Paradise Co to bring more Chinese tourists to South Korean casinos. They could similarly flip this investment into Summit Ascent to bring more tourists to Russia, increasing their revenue and killing two birds with one stone.
They also aren’t strangers when it comes to directly investing in international casinos. They’ve previously invested in casino development projects in both Vietnam and Cambodia, and is also setting up VIP clubs in Macau, the Philippines and Australia.
There’s a lot of potential for future growth with this investment too, as Tigre de Cristal is not done growing. According to Summit Ascent’s CEO, Stylianos Tsifetakis, the operator is planning a major expansion of the casino, with a price tag of $500 million and plans to finish by 2021.
