The Macau Fisherman’s Wharf precinct owner and operator of satellite casino Legend Palace, Macau Legend Development Ltd, has struck a preliminary agreement to sell its Savan Legend casino in Laos for US$45 million.
The Japanese billionaire Shundo Yoshinari has agreed to purchase Savan Legend, the firm said late last night, pending the outcome of due diligence and the fulfillment of various condition precedents.
If the acquisition goes through, Yoshinari will take over 100% of Savan Legend’s parent company, Macau Legend’s MLD Resorts Laos Limited.
SOLD: The Savan Legend
Macau Legend explained the sale by saying, “Although the gaming and hotel business in Lao PDR was profitable 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.”
According to online casinos experts, Macau Legend stipulates that the initial gaming license period shall be 99 years, that there be no unfavorable conditions to Mr. Yoshinari contained with the land tenancy certificate, and that Savan Legend enters a flat tax arrangement with the government of Lao PDR on terms agreed to by all parties.
After signing a non-disclosure agreement, the firm claimed it expects to receive the remaining US$45 million in full within three months. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting border restrictions, Macau Legend, which earlier this year signed a new three-year deal with SJM to continue running the casino at Legend Palace on the Macau peninsula, recently reported a loss of HK$607.2 million for the 12 months to 31 December 2022.