Family of Macau's Ho deny seizing stake in casinos

[January 25, 2011]  HONG KONG (AP) -- One of the wives of Macau casino baron Stanley Ho and five of his children denied Tuesday that they have seized the billionaire's stake in the world's biggest gambling market.

The family members were responding Tuesday to a report in the South China Morning Post newspaper that said a furious Ho is accusing them of "fraudulently misappropriating" his shares in casino operator Sociedade de Jogos de Macau Holdings, also known as SJM.

The controversy erupted after SJM told the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday that Ho had transferred to family members all but 100 shares of his roughly 32 percent stake in a company that owns over half of SJM.

The developments may reflect a family power struggle as Ho had planned to hand over control of his casino empire to 16 living children from four wives. The 89-year-old presided over the rise of Macau's casino industry during four decades until his monopoly was broken up by the government in 2002.

Foreign competitors, including those in joint ventures with some of his children, now operate in Macau, the world's most lucrative gambling market. SJM, which operates 17 casinos and four slot machine lounges, is still one of the biggest players.

Ho's lawyer Gordon Oldham said the billionaire had told him he wanted to divide his assets equally among his children and the law firm has been instructed to "pursue and protect" Ho's interests, the newspaper reported. Oldham wasn't immediately available to comment.

The family members said all "material steps" for the transfer of Ho's shares to two companies owned by the relatives were "approved or authorized in writing" by Ho, according to a statement released by their public relations firm.

Ho had surgery in 2009 for unspecified reasons and spent seven months in hospital before being discharged in March. Local media reported that he underwent brain surgery after hitting his head. He has rarely appeared in public since.

Ho's lawyers said he "discovered much to his horror" that his 100 percent ownership of Lanceford Co., which holds the 32 percent stake in SJM's parent company, had been diluted after new shares were issued, reducing his share to 1 percent, the Post reported. Half of the shares in Lanceford were then transferred to a company owned by Ho's third wife and the other half to another company owned equally by the five children by his second wife.

But the family members said it was "regrettable" that Ho's law firm "rushed to publicize these matters without checking the underlying facts in connection with the relevant transactions."

The disputed stake in SJM is worth about 3.4 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.7 billion), based on SJM's closing share price Monday. The shares were suspended Tuesday pending an announcement.

[Associated Press; By KELVIN CHAN]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.