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Winnie Ho to file suit over SJM listing bid

Andy Chen

STDM shareholders approve planned enlargement of HK unit's share capital

The proposed listing of casino magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun's gaming flagship, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), will face a new legal challenge, with his estranged sister vowing to file a lawsuit against the decision by SJM's parent firm yesterday to sell 25 per cent of the gaming licensee to the public.

Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) plans to inject SJM, of which it owns 80 per cent, into a new Hong Kong subsidiary for listing purposes. There are 16 Macau casinos operating under the SJM gaming licence.

STDM shareholders yesterday approved the enlargement of the share capital of the Hong Kong subsidiary, 25 per cent of which will be sold to the public. This is higher than the 20 per cent previously indicated which was estimated to be worth about HK$15 billion.

Winnie Ho Yuen-ki, who holds 7.3 per cent of STDM, questioned the legitimacy of the meeting in Macau yesterday.

STDM has to reconstruct its share registry book, which was lost in 2002, before any listing decision can be made, Ms Ho said.

Ms Ho had previously filed lawsuits against the legitimacy of an STDM meeting in March that had approved the spin-off. A Macau court later affirmed the legality of the meeting.

Mr Ho said Macau's Court of Final Appeal will hear Ms Ho's appeal against an STDM proposal on reconstruction of the share registry this month.

'With the final verdict on the share registry book, the listing will be much smoother,' he said.

SJM executive director Ambrose So Shu-fai said STDM shareholders want flexibility for the listing and propose the offering to be 25 per cent.

'Whether it is 20 per cent or 25 per cent will be determined later after we get advice from our underwriter and bank,' Mr So said.

Ms Ho sent two representatives, Albert Ho Chun-yan and John Clancey, representing her Moon Valley Foundation, to attend the STDM shareholders' meeting.

Mr Ho was not allowed to attend, with STDM claiming the request for him to attend came too late. Ms Ho did not comment on Mr Ho being barred from the meeting.

STDM aims to list the subsidiary before the end of this year.

Deutsche Bank is the sole bookrunner of the offering, sources said.

SJM's gaming revenue fell 2.3 per cent last year to 34.4 billion patacas in the first full year of competition between local and foreign companies.

Ms Ho said yesterday she made an offer of HK$6 billion last week to buy out her brother's 20 per cent stake in STDM but her spokeswoman said Mr Ho has not yet responded to the offer. Her offer followed Mr Ho's bid to buy out her 7.3 per cent stake in STDM for HK$2 billion in 2001, a year before STDM's share registry book went missing.

Meanwhile, Mr Stanley Ho yesterday confirmed that there are plans to list Macau's Fisherman's Wharf theme park, in which he owns 51 per cent.

Industry and market sources have said Mr Ho and partner David Chow Kam-fai, who owns a 49 per cent stake, may package the struggling Fisherman's Wharf theme park, the 551-room Landmark Hotel and two casinos for an initial public share offering before the end of the year.

Merrill Lynch is arranging the share sale, sources said.

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