On August 14, Australia-listed Donaco International Ltd. announced the appointment of two new non-executive directors, Leo Chan Yan Ho and Kurkye Wong.
As Donaco informed the Australian Securities Exchange, Chan and Wong are representatives of Argyle Street Management Ltd., an institutional investor. It was founded in Hong Kong in 2002 and now manages assets worth about US$1.7 billion, according to the filing reported in GGRAsia. Chan is an executive director of Argyle Street Management and Wong is a vice-president of the company.
Donaco told the stock exchange that One Nut Road Ltd., an Argyle Street subsidiary, agreed to pay AUD0.14 a share (US$.10) for approximately 158,570,000 shares in Donaco on or before September 9. The shares represent a 19.25 percent stake in the Asian boutique casino operator.
Donaco said it intended to appoint another independent non-executive director in the near future.
In July, Donaco shareholders voted to oust brothers Joey and Ben Lim from the board. The Lims are members of the family that founded Malaysian gaming giant Genting Bhd; Joey Lim founded Donaco and was its managing director and chief executive until March 19. Ben Lim then became acting CEO, serving until the middle of June.
A company spokesman told GGRAsia shortly after their removal, “We are refreshing the board, with the recent appointment of David Green as an independent non-executive director. And we are refreshing the management team, with the appointment of Paul Arbuckle as our CEO.”
Donaco runs one casino in Vietnam, near the Chinese border, and another in Cambodia, near the Thai border.
