SkyCity Entertainment has confirmed that it received an unsolicited takeover proposal from a special situations fund managed by Oaktree Capital Management in May 2026. The conditional, non-binding proposal offered NZ$0.70 cash per SkyCity share, while a separate unnamed party proposed an implied price of NZ$0.75 per share.
SkyCity’s board unanimously rejected both proposals after deciding that they did not “adequately reflect the company’s underlying value”, and they also added that several of their conditions were “problematic.”
SkyCity told both parties it was willing to consider revised offers, including potentially providing due-diligence information, but neither returned with an improved proposal.
Oaktree is now fully owned within the Brookfield group after Brookfield completed the acquisition of the remaining approximately 26% interest it did not already own. Interestingly, the investment manager already has previous experience in the casino sector – and has previously entered into recapitalisation opportunities involving Australian operators Crown Resorts and Star Entertainment.
Naturally, the move comes at a crucial time for Skycity. The company has already been selling assets, reducing debt and cutting costs after underlying EBITDA fell 22.3% during FY26. It expects its asset sales to increase NZ$230 million to NZ$300 million, while a review of its Adelaide casino is set to begin during the first half of FY27.
Skycity has also confirmed savings plans that could eventually affect between 200 and 250 New Zealand-based roles.
For now, there is no active takeover agreement on the table. SkyCity said in its 25 August market release that neither Oaktree nor the second potential buyer submitted a revised proposal after their initial ones were rejected by shareholders.
However, that does not rule out renewed interest – but it does leave SkyCity to focus on its current asset sales, cost reductions and Adelaide review, while investors wait to see whether Oaktree – or even another bidder – ends up coming back with a higher offer.
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Alex Smith