Casino operator Macau Legend Development, owner of the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf precinct and operator of satellite casino Legend Palace, has reached an initial agreement to sell its casino in Laos, Savan Legend, in a $45 million deal with the aim to redirect more resources towards its business operations in Macau.
In a stock filing sent to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the company revealed that it has entered into a letter of intent with purchaser Shundo Yoshinari, a Japanese citizen with no links to the company. Should the deal go through, Yoshinari will acquire the entire equity interest in Macau Legend subsidiary MLD Resorts Laos Limited, which wholly owns Savan Legend.
Outlining the reasons for the sale, Macau Legend said that “although the gaming and hotel business in Lao PDR was profit-making for the financial year of 2022, its financial performance is unstable and such business is subject to increasingly onerous restraints in Lao PDR, thereby limiting its profitability in the future.”
“If the Potential Disposal materializes, the group can reallocate more financial resources to its business operation in Macau and for overall future development. The Board considers that the entering into of the Letter of Intent and the Potential Disposal is in the interests of the Company and the Shareholders as a whole.”
The condition precedents of the transaction include signing a flat tax agreement with the government of Lao PDR, that the term of the initial gambling license shall be 99 years, and that there are no adverse terms to Yoshinari contained with the land tenancy certificate. The company said it expects to be paid the full $45 million balance within three months of signing a non-disclosure agreement.
Macau Legend, which earlier this year signed a new three-year deal with SJM to continue running the casino at Legend Palace on the Macau peninsula, recently reported a loss of HK$607.2 million ($77.6 million) for the 12 months to 31 December 2022, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and related border restrictions.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2023/06/15/67539-macau-legend-to-sell-laos-casino-savan-legend-for-45m-to-prioritise-macau-operations
