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.