Privatisations pay off but not for minority shareholders

The chairman of luxury retailer Dickson Concepts (International) Dickson Poon has not given his minority investors many luxurious times.

His offer to buy out the 49.9 per cent of trend-setting department store Harvey Nichols he does not own could be the latest demonstration of how Mr Poon spins profits out of privatised assets.

The offer also adds to a portfolio of controversial deals struck by Mr Poon in the past three years. They include his HK$1.52 billion acquisition of a bag of quality non-Asia assets from Dickson Concepts, the subsequent sale of a privatised real estate venture in London for a hefty profit and a HK$130-million consultant fee charged to Dickson Concepts for e-commerce consultancy services.

The Harvey Nichols offer opens a new chapter of the HK$1.52-billion acquisition saga which began in 1999.

Part of that saw Mr Poon buy the freehold of Harvey Nichols' flagship store in London's Knightsbridge for HK$605.5 million and 50.1 per cent of Harvey Nichols for HK$607.2 million.

Just a year after the deal was completed, the acquisition effectively turned into a profit-spinner for Mr Poon. He sold the freehold at a price reportedly 'far more than HK$850 million' to property investor Cadogan Estate.