THE $8.7 billion takeover play for Miramar Hotel and Investment by tycoon Li Ka-shing and CITIC Pacific seems a carbon copy of an earlier bid on conglomerate Hang Chong.
Even the bidders are similar. Mr Li is again linking up with CITIC Pacific as he did for the Hang Chong deal in 1991. Two other similarities are the involvement in the deal of New World Development's Cheng Yu-tung and Mr Li's reliance on a middleman to pull the whole thing off.
When Mr Li made his play for Hang Chong, chairman Ho Sin-hang's desire to dispose of his shareholding in the conglomerate and retire provided for an easy passage.
There appears to be a striking similarity in the Miramar bid with chairman and key player Ho Tim also wanting to dispose of his investments and retire. Another reason to believe that the deal will go through without a hitch is the fact that Ho, 90, is a close friend of Mr Li.
Miramar, the target of the takeover, is a traditional Chinese enterprise now being run by the second generation of the Young family.
The family has not been aggressive since the death of Young Chi-wan, father of the present director and general manager of Miramar Hotel, Albert Young Bing-ching.
It is believed that the Young family has a 24 per cent stake in Miramar, while Mr Ho controls less than 10 per cent.