Former Macau legislator David Chow Kam Fai (pictured in a file photo) and former banker Sheldon Trainor have dramatically reduced their shareholdings in casino services and hotel firm Macau Legend Development Ltd, as part of a deal that saw Macau junket boss Levo Chan take a 20.65-percent stake in the business, making him therefore the largest individual shareholder.
Macau Legend runs three casinos in Macau under a so-called services agreement with Macau licensee SJM Holdings Ltd, and has also invested in a Laos casino resort.
A Tuesday declaration regarding the latest shareholder rejig was made after news that an entity controlled by Tak Chun Group chief executive Mr Chan had made the 20.65-percent acquisition for a cash consideration of about US$173 million.
The update said that Mr Chow – and an entity called All Landmark Properties Ltd – had sold a 20 percent stake of slightly more than 1.24 billion shares, for just over HKD1.30 billion (US$168 million).
They went to Perfect Achiever Group Ltd, a British Virgin Islands firm wholly-owned by Mr Chan. The selling price was HKD1.05 per share.
After the transaction, effected on Friday according to the notice, Mr Chow – co-chairman and an executive director of Macau Legend – retains a stake of only 9.89 percent, according to Tuesday’s notice. That included interests controlled by his wife, Macau Legend’s chief executive Melinda Chan Mei Yi.
Another notice, lodged also with the Hong Kong bourse on Tuesday, said Mr Trainor, himself a Macau Legend executive director, had on Friday sold a 0.65-percent stake in the business, to interests controlled by the Tak Chun boss, leaving Mr Trainor with a 0.73 percent holding.
A firm ultimately controlled by Mr Trainor sold 40 million shares at HKD1.05 a piece, for a cash consideration of HKD42 million, or about US$5.4 million.
The sale was to Mr Chan’s entity, Perfect Achiever Group, by PacBridge Capital Partners (HK) Ltd. The latter, a Hong Kong vehicle, is controlled by a Cayman Islands firm that is wholly owned by Mr Trainor.
GGRAsia reported last month – quoting industry insiders – that some of the city’s junket firms had shown interest in acquiring Macau Legend’s gaming and tourism complex Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, a waterfront area located close to the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal in Macau peninsula.
