The Australian billionaire James Packer has quit the board of Crown Resorts Ltd, four months after stepping down as chairman, as the casino group grapples with falling revenues in the Asian gambling hub of Macau.

In a statement on Monday, Packer, who owns 53% of the A$9bn company, did not give a reason for stepping down but said he planned to devote his energy to development projects in Sydney, Melbourne and Las Vegas.

The move cuts Packer’s influence over the company that he said “represents the vast majority of my net wealth”. Its gambling revenue in Macau has fallen for 18 straight months because of China’s crackdown on graft.

Crown has a one-third stake in Hong Kong-based Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd, which opened a 39,000-square-metre casino in Macau in 2015. Crown shares rose nearly 5% in a flat market on Monday.

The statement said Packer’s private investment vehicle, Consolidated Press Holdings Ltd, “recently concluded a major transaction in my family’s business and this also has assisted the timing of my decision”.

It gave no further details of the Consolidated Press transaction but added that “Gretel and I have never been closer”.

In October, the Australian media reported that Packer’s sister, Gretel Packer, would receive a portion of James’s wealth following a confidential settlement.

James Packer took over the running of Crown, then a media conglomerate called Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd, following his father’s death in 2005, and transformed it into one of the world’s biggest casino developers and operators.

In August, he surprised investors by quitting as Crown chairman on the same day the company reported a one-fifth decline in annual net profit because of lower Macau earnings.

A week ago, Crown shares rallied after the Australian media reported that Packer was in talks with private financiers about a possible proposal to take the company private.

The following day, he said the move was not imminent.

The Guardian