Casinos Austria selling int’l ops to focus on domestic biz

Casinos Austria AG plans to sell its international assets in order to focus on its domestic operations.

On Friday, Belgian media outlet L’Echo reported viewing a “strictly personal and confidential” presentation detailing the company’s intention to sell off all the non-Austrian holdings of Casinos Austria International, which include 27 land-based casinos in 11 countries, plus six cruise casinos, online gaming operations and a video lottery terminal subsidiary in Macedonia.

The assets in question include 10 gaming venues in Germany, four in Denmark, three in Switzerland, plus operations in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Georgia, Hungary and Palestine. The operations, including the floating casinos, reportedly generate annual of revenue of around €300m.

Casinos Austria spokesman Martin Himmelbauer subsequently confirmed the accuracy of the presentation viewed by L’Echo. Himmelbauer said the company felt the time was right for a sale, given the international division’s return to profitability after a long time in the financial wilderness.