Firm plans spin-off listing on Nasdaq for funds to buy Macau gaming licence and finance casino projects
Melco International Development, controlled by the family of Stanley Ho Hung-sun, has won Hong Kong stock exchange approval for a US$1 billion spin-off of the firm's casino venture with James Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (PBL).
Hong Kong-listed Melco aims to sell 20 per cent of Melco PBL Entertainment for US$1 billion through an initial public offering on the Nasdaq, sources said.
Melco PBL Entertainment operates six slot-machine cafes in Macau and is building a seventh.
Listing committee approval for the spin-off came yesterday after an attempt last month failed over issues related to Melco's financial track record, a source close to the firms said. The company has posted annual profit in only two of the past five years.
Melco chairman Lawrence Ho Yau-lung has said the stock exchange imposed a different interpretation in the way that accounting standards should be applied when it considered the most recent submission.
Melco's 50-50 joint venture with PBL, the largest gaming company in Australia, is seeking money to fund its US$900 million purchase of a Macau gaming licence and three casino projects costing HK$12 billion over the next five years.