On July 18, shareholders of Australian casino operator Donaco International Ltd. voted to remove directors Joey Lim and Ben Lim from the firm’s board. The vote was taken at an extraordinary general meeting called by three shareholders who had asked for shake-up of Donaco’s board.
Donaco said in a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange that more than 90 percent of the shareholders voted to remove the brothers, members of the family that founded Malaysian casino company Genting.
Joey Lim, the founder and former managing director and CEO of Donaco, was ousted in March “with immediate effect.” During his absence, Ben Lim stepped in as acting CEO.
On June 12, the firm appointed a new CEO, Paul Arbuckle, and received a notice from shareholder James Spenceley of Spenceley Management Pty Ltd. insisting that the brothers be removed so the company could “get back on investor watch lists.”
“These changes signal a new era for the company,” a Donaco spokesman said in an email to GGRAsia. “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 operates a casino hotel in Vietnam near the Chinese border and another in Poipet, Cambodia, on the border of Thailand.
Donaco’s spokesman confirmed that the company is “planning to strengthen” its board further, “with the appointment of another high-quality independent director in the near future.”
Meanwhile, according to Inside Asian Gaming, Hong Kong hedge fund Argyle Street Management Ltd., which owns a 19.25 percent stake in Donaco, has withdrawn its request for a general meeting to push for the appointment of ASM representatives to the board. Earlier this month ASM asked that Kurkye Wong and Yan Ho Leo Chan, both representatives of an associated firm, On Nut Road Ltd. be appointed as directors.
ASM, reportedly controlled by Thai billionaire Chanin Donavanik, acquired its stake from Orchard Capital Partners in late June, part of the 27.25 percent stake OCP seized from Joey Lim when he defaulted on a loan repayment in November 2018.
IAG reported that the ouster of the Lims “appears to have temporarily appeased ASM.”
