Ailing Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho has sold part of his property-and-transport

Ailing Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho has sold part of his property-and-transport firm to his daughter Pansy, one of several relatives he sued earlier this year in a high-profile family row.

Ho’s daughter, managing director of Shun Tak Holdings, bought 36.3 million shares of the Hong Kong-listed firm, upping her Shun Tak stake to 12.67 per cent from 11 per cent, according to a stock exchange filing late yesterday.

The purchase is estimated to be valued at HK$177.4 million (US$22.8 million), based on Thursday’s closing price.

Ho previously reduced his Shun Tak stake to 8.7 per cent from 20.3 per cent, transferring the shares to a firm controlled by his children, the Wall Street Journal said today.

The elder Ho will remain Shun Tak’s group executive chairman while Pansy Ho will keep her current position, the company said, adding that the share transfer “will not have any impact” on its day-to-day business.

Shun Tak Holdings dominates the ferry and helicopter services that link Macau with Hong Kong, and operates bus services to mainland China, while Ho’s gaming business is operated by his SJM Holdings.

Earlier this year, Pansy Ho was named in two separate legal actions launched by her father, who claimed that certain branches of his large family had tried to steal SJM Holdings and a gaming fortune worth at least US$3.1 billion.

The tycoon, nicknamed the “King of Gambling”, had at least 17 children with four different women whom he refers to as his wives.

In March, Ho announced the bitter family feud had been “fully resolved”, but did not reveal the terms of the settlement.

Source AFP