Govt, SkyCity extend deadline for $402m convention centre deal

The government and SkyCity Entertainment Group are giving themselves another fortnight to cut a deal on the terms for the casino and hotel operator to build a $402 million convention centre in Auckland in exchange for regulatory concessions.

Both parties agreed to extend the deadline to reach a final agreement until the end of the month, after initially setting a June 14 deadline in last month's heads of agreement, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce says in a statement.

Once reached, the deal will then be ratified by legislation and will go through parliamentary and select committee processes.

"The heads of agreement remains unchanged in all other respects," Mr Joyce says. "As I said at the time, concluding a final agreement in a month was always going to be ambitious."

The government wants the casino operator to take on the construction, fit-out and land costs of a new international convention centre in the country's biggest city and is willing to offer a 27-year extension to SkyCity's Auckland casino licence and an extra 230 slot machines and 40 gaming tables in exchange.

SkyCity would gain concessions with a net present value of $316 million, according to a base case scenario assessed by Korda Mentha. The value range was put at $261 million to $329 million.

SkyCity chief executive Nigel Morrison says good progress has been made, but "this is a relatively complex transaction and we need more time to finalise the agreement".

Construction is scheduled to start in 2014 with the centre completed in 2017.

The deal and its negotiations raised ire from problem gaming groups and opposition MPs, who called in the auditor-general to look at the process.

While the final decision of the government to negotiate with SkyCity passed muster with the auditor-general's investigation, the process was deemed to be sloppy, with the casino operator treated differently from rival bidders.

Shares in SkyCity fell 1.4 percent to $4.23 yesterday, and have gained 12 percent this year. The stock is rated an average 'buy' based on eight analyst recommendations compiled by Reuters, with a median target price of $4.60.

(BusinessDesk)