TEXT-NZ's Sky City Entertainment buys back debt

(The following statement was released by the company)

WELLINGTON, July 10 - Skycity Entertainment Group Limited advises that it has bought back (and retired) US$53m (NZ$84.5m) of its March 2012 maturity US Private Placement debt.

The debt buyback was transacted on 9 July 2009 at a discount of 2% to face value: at US98 cents per US$1.00 of debt. While the offer to repurchase was made to all holders of the USPP debt of NZ$627m, only the holders of NZ$84.5m were prepared to sell at this discount.

Funds from SKYCITY's equity raising of April 2009 have been applied to effect this debt repayment. This buyback of US$53m (NZ$84.5m) reduces SKYCITY's total debt position by 9.0%.

SKYCITY's Managing Director, Nigel Morrison, says "We are pleased to have achieved a significant buy back of our March 2012 USPP maturing debt. When we raised equity capital in April, we advised that the primary purpose of the equity raising was to reduce debt and this transaction is the first stage in that process".