GGRAsia – Warburg Pincus unit new majority owner of Ho Tram backer

Warburg Pincus unit new majority owner of Ho Tram backer

Jul 19, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Asian Coast Development Ltd (ACDL), the promoter of The Grand Ho Tram Strip (pictured), a hotel complex with casino on the Vietnam coast southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, has now confirmed a new majority owner, GGRAsia has learned from available sources.

An entity controlled by United States-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC is now the majority owner of ACDL.

Vietnamese investment firm VinaCapital Group Ltd has a minority stake in the new controlling entity of ACDL.

“ACDL – the parent company – expanded its investor base to include an affiliate of Warburg Pincus,” a spokesman for The Grand Ho Tram Strip told GGRAsia by email in response to our enquiry.

“We are not disclosing the terms of the deal,” added the person.

New York City-based hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners LLC, founded by American financier Philip Falcone, was previously the majority shareholder in ACDL, a company that in turn controls the resort’s developer, the Ho Tram Project Co Ltd.

According to a September 2016 statement, international investors – including Harbinger – had “over US$1 billion in deployed and committed capital” in the scheme.

The Grand Ho Tram Strip is being developed in a number of phases. The first phase of the project – known as The Grand casino resort and featuring a 541-room hotel – opened in July 2013.