Wynn Resorts’ legal battle with majority shareholder Kazuo Okada is getting uglier after their attempts to weed him out were met with tough words. A forced buyout of Okada’s shares took place yesterday after the firm reported a yearlong investigation into the Universal Entertainment Corp head honcho revealed he’d made illicit payments to Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) officials. It led to Wynn forcing a share buyout of Okada’s shares, something that Universal has now branded “outrageous.”
“Universal Entertainment will take all legal actions necessary to protect its investment and prevent a forced redemption of its shares,” a statement made by the firm said.
Wynn are paying $1.9billion over ten years for the 24 million shares that Okada had owned and they’ve also banned him from serving on the board of Wynn Macau, as well as parent company Wynn Resorts. Okada’s complaints have stoked the fire ever further and the Vegas-based firm wasn’t going to stay quiet for long.
“What is remarkable in the Universal Entertainment response is that they do not deny violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or otherwise contradict the company’s statement,” the Wynn statement read.
They also added: “Over the course of an extremely thorough year-long investigation, Mr. Okada has had numerous opportunities to explain his actions and provide evidence to refute the allegations. He never did so.”
The coming days are likely to see the squabble carried through the courts for a while longer and it doesn’t sound as though either side will give up the ghost without a fight.
