Macau Legend Development Ltd., which owns the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf precinct and operates a Macau satellite casino, the Legend Palace, has reached a tentative deal to sell its Savan Legend casino in Laos for $45 million.
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, the potential buyer is businessman Shundo Yoshinari, described as “a Japanese citizen currently residing in Japan” and an independent third party. If the deal passes muster with regulators, Yoshinari will also acquire Macau Legend subsidiary MLD Resorts Laos Ltd., which owns Savan Legend.
Commenting on the sale, Macau Legend said, “Although the gaming and hotel business in Lao PDR [People’s Democratic Republic] 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.”
With receipts from the sale, “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.”
If the deal is approved, Yoshinari would receive an initial gaming license of 99 years and pay the full $45 million balance within three months of signing a non-disclosure agreement.
Macau Legend recently signed a new three-year deal with SJM Resorts in Macau to continue running its satellite casino through January 2026 at Legend Palace on the city’s peninsula. It recently reported a loss of HK$607.2 million for the 12 months to December 31, a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic and related border restrictions. Macau reopened its borders on January 8.
