An Australia-listed operator and developer of casinos, Silver Heritage Group Ltd, has settled a dispute with its former partner in the Tiger Palace Resort at Bhairahawa in Nepal, and taken on a new partner.
Silver Heritage told the Australian Securities Exchange on Tuesday that a former consultant to the project, Rajendra Bajgain, and his brother, Nabaraj Bajgain, had sold their shares in SHL Management Services (KTM) Pvt Ltd. The unit is a subsidiary of Silver Heritage that runs the casinos at the Tiger Palace Resort and a second casino owned by the company, The Millionaire’s Club and Casino in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
Silver Heritage said the Bajgain brothers sold their 10 percent holding to Tiger Kathmandu Investment Pvt Ltd, a company incorporated in Nepal, with the required permission from Nepal’s Department of Industry. While Silver Heritage holds 90 percent of SHL Management, the sale makes Tiger Kathmandu Investment the new partner. Silver Heritage told the stock exchange it knew the new partner well, and that it was part of a group of businesses that owned and built hotels.
Silver Heritage had previously informed the stock exchange it removed Rajendra Bajgain from his consultant’s post, alleging he had tried to frustrate operations at Tiger Palace. Mr Bajgain countered with a legal action in the Nepal courts to have him reinstated. In April, Silver Heritage said it was looking for a settlement path that did not involve a courtroom.
The Tiger Palace Resort, near the border between Nepal and the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, cost about US$52 million to build. Its doors opened at the end of the third quarter last year and the casino commenced operations in December. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation of Nepal issued the licence to SHL Management Services.
