Shareholders of casino investor LET Group Ltd have approved a proposal to dispose of the group’s investment in the Tigre de Cristal casino resort in Russia. The announcement was made in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday.
The proposal – tabled by LET Group’s controlling shareholder Major Success Group Ltd – was passed at an extraordinary general meeting on Thursday.
The proposal stated that it was “in the interest of the company to implement the disposal” of the unit that directly controls Tigre de Cristal. It also said that the LET Group board was “requested to take steps and to allocate resources to implement the disposal plan as soon as possible”.
In July, LET Group said it would resume attempts to sell the promoter of Tigre de Cristal, noting that the sale price “should be no less than US$92.8 million”.
LET Group has not yet identified any potential buyers. It said in a previous filing that any such suitors “must be third party(ies) independent of LET Group”.
LET Group said in February that a previously-announced sale of its Tigre de Cristal casino operations to a Russian firm had been terminated at the request of the would-be buyer.
That deal, first made public in January, was to involve the disposal, by an entity called Oriental Regent Ltd, of 100 percent of the shares in its wholly-owned G1 Entertainment LLC for a consideration of US$116 million.
Oriental Regent is the company through which Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd – a majority-controlled subsidiary of LET Group – runs gaming and hotel operations at the Tigre de Cristal casino resort near Vladivostok in Russia.
G1 Entertainment holds a gaming licence for Tigre de Cristal, granted by the Russian government.
Summit Ascent owns 77.5 percent of Oriental Regent. Taiwan firm Firich Enterprises Co Ltd, via its unit Firich Investment Ltd, has stated it holds a 20-percent stake in Oriental Regent.
On Thursday, shareholders of Summit Ascent also approved the proposed sale of the entirety – or a majority – of the issued shares in G1 Entertainment.
Trading in Summit Ascent and LET Group’s shares in Hong Kong has been halted since mid-February.
In a previous filing, LET Group said it would use part of the proceeds of a potential sale of G1 Entertainment for payment of a special dividend to Summit Ascent shareholders.
The remaining part would be used to finance the construction of the group’s casino resort project in the Philippine capital Manila – being developed by subsidiary Suntrust Resort Holdings Inc – as well as general working capital. The Manila venue is scheduled to commence operations in the first quarter of 2025.
