SkyCity Entertainment Group has completed the sale of its 99 Albert Street office building and adjoining Victoria Street investment properties in Auckland, closing a deal worth NZ$74.5 million ($44 million) as part of the casino operator’s ongoing drive to raise cash and cut debt.
The New Zealand-listed group confirmed settlement of the transaction on September 1st. The properties were sold to Christchurch-based commercial property manager Mainland Capital in a joint venture with Russell Property Group.
The sale was first flagged on July 17th, when SkyCity announced it had reached unconditional status, following an initial heads of agreement disclosed on May 1st. The 17-level office tower at 99 Albert Street, which houses SkyCity’s Auckland headquarters, was purchased by the group for NZ$47 million ($28 million) in 2017.
The disposal forms part of SkyCity’s asset monetization program, launched alongside its FY25 results in August 2025 and its NZ$240 million ($142 million) equity raise, under which the group aims to divest assets and repay debt. Chief Executive Officer Jason Walbridge said the proceeds would be used to repay debt and give SkyCity greater financial flexibility to navigate current market conditions.
The program also includes a proposed sale of the group’s luxury Grand Hotel in Auckland. SkyCity entered a non-binding heads of agreement on July 22 to sell the hotel to an unnamed overseas buyer, with the deal conditional on approval from the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office. Financial terms remain confidential, though investment firm Forsyth Barr has estimated the hotel’s value at around NZ$200 million ($118 million), with market activity suggesting the price could reach up to NZ$250 million ($148 million). SkyCity is targeting receipt of the cash proceeds in late 2026.
Taken together, the asset monetization program is expected to generate NZ$275 million to NZ$300 million ($163 million to $178 million) in gross proceeds by December 2026.
The completed sale comes shortly after SkyCity confirmed, on August 25, that it had rejected two unsolicited takeover proposals received in May. The first, from a special situations fund managed by Oaktree Capital Management, was pitched at NZ$0.70 ($0.41) cash per share. A second proposal, from an unnamed party widely reported to be Sam Arnaout’s Iris Capital, implied a price of NZ$0.75 ($0.44) per share. Based on SkyCity’s roughly 1.1 billion ordinary shares, the bids valued the company’s equity at approximately NZ$772 million ($457 million) and NZ$827 million ($490 million) respectively.
Both proposals were subject to numerous conditions, including at least eight weeks of due diligence, arranging debt financing, and regulatory and shareholder approvals. One or both bidders also asked SkyCity to provide exclusivity, retain its existing debt facilities, and refrain from entering binding agreements to acquire or dispose of assets — conditions directly relevant to its asset monetization program.
SkyCity’s board unanimously determined that neither proposal adequately reflected the company’s underlying value and that some conditions were problematic. The company said it remained open to a revised proposal, but none has been submitted.
Separately, SkyCity confirmed a non-binding agreement with South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services regulator over its review into the Adelaide casino, accepting a fine of AU$21 million ($14 million) payable in three installments over two years.
