Further delay in Savan Vegas deal: Macau Legend

Jun 30, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Casino services firm Macau Legend Development Ltd says there has been a “further delay” in the dispatch of a circular to confirm a major transaction in relation to the Savan Vegas Hotel and Entertainment Complex in Laos in Southeast Asia.

“Additional time is required to finalise the information in the circular, including the financial information and the valuation report of the Savan Vegas Hotel and Entertainment Complex,” Macau Legend said in a filing on Thursday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The firm said it now expects to dispatch the circular no later than July 31.

In May Macau Legend, led by former Macau legislator David Chow Kam Fai, said it had reached an agreement with the Lao government to pay US$42 million for the right to operate the casino hotel in Laos. The deal also includes the right to a 50-year monopoly on casino operations in three Lao provinces including the one where the resort is located.

Macau Legend said in its May announcement that Savan Vegas is on a 50-hectare (124-acre) plot and that its casino had 92 tables and 493 slot machines. The resort is also said to have a 476-room hotel and a convention centre, restaurants, bars and shops.

The week prior to Macau Legend’s May 13 announcement of its planned acquisition, Lao Holdings NV, the parent company of a firm called Sanum Investments Ltd, said it had filed three legal actions alleging violations of a 2014 agreement with the government of Laos.

The Lao government in 2012 seized the resort operation – claiming that Sanum Investments owed US$23 million in back taxes and penalties – and appointed an interim management with a view to disposal of the property to other investors.

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