By Kate O’Keeffe
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
HONG KONG (Dow Jones)–Ailing gambling tycoon Stanley Ho has parceled out another chunk of his property and transport flagship Shun Tak Holdings Ltd. (0242.HK) to the eldest daughter of his second wife, according to a statement from the company Monday.
Shun Tak said its managing director Pansy Ho bought 36,285,523 shares of the company from her father at market price on Thursday, raising her stake in the company to 12.67% from 11.00% in a purchase valued at HK$177.4 million (US$22.77 million), according to a Dow Jones Newswires calculation based on Shun Tak’s closing price of HK$4.89 per share that day.
Shun Tak said Stanley Ho remains group executive chairman and will continue to lead the board, while Pansy will continue as managing director responsible for the overall performance of the company and its subsidiaries. It added the share purchase wouldn’t “have any impact on any aspect of the affairs of the company.”
In November, Stanley Ho cut his stake in Shun Tak to 8.72% from 20.27%. The off-market transfer of 250,936,160 shares to a company controlled by Ho’s children, including Pansy, was worth HK$1.22 billion (US$157 million), according to a Dow Jones Newswires calculation.
Earlier this year, a family dispute burst into the open when Stanley Ho, who is 89 years old and in poor health, accused the children of his second wife of colluding with his third wife to steal the holding company that held the bulk of his assets. They denied his accusations. Stanley Ho said the dispute was settled in March.
Shun Tak has an 11.5% effective interest in Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, which in turn owns 55.7% of Stanley Ho’s SJM Holdings Ltd. (0880.HK), according to Shun Tak’s 2010 annual report. SJM is one of six casino license holders in Macau, the only place in China where casino gambling is allowed.
