SkyCity would consider selling its entire business as an alternative to its current growth strategy

SkyCity Entertainment Group said it will run a structured process to seek proposals for a potential whole-company buyout, as the New Zealand casino operator tests whether a sale would offer shareholders more value than its growth strategy. Chairman Julian Cook said the board would consider any viable proposal, with UBS and Chapman Tripp appointed as advisers. The portfolio includes the Sky Tower, the New Zealand International Convention Centre, and casinos in Hamilton and Adelaide.

At the company's AGM, SkyCity said first-quarter FY27 trading was consistent with the fourth quarter of FY26. Cook said consumer conditions in New Zealand and Australia remain subdued, while revenue is tracking in line with expectations and cost savings are ahead of schedule.

SkyCity is not providing formal guidance, citing the timing of online casino market entry and macroeconomic uncertainty. CEO Jason Walbridge said the online licence auction settled within modelled scenarios and that reducing from three allowable licences to two was a deliberate capital allocation decision. The company said its earnings outlook now needs to reflect the sale of The Grand Hotel.