Far East Consortium International Ltd. (FEC) just took its reach a little further. It announced on Tuesday that it had inked a deal that will allow it to acquire a company that operates casinos in the Czech Republic. The merger is with Trans World Corp (TWC), which also has several operations in Germany and Austria.
How much money changed hands in the deal isn’t known. However, in FEC’s March financial filing, it mentioned the negotiations, saying that it wouldn’t exceed $42 million, except for adjustment necessary for “dissenting” shareholders.
In March, FEC announced that it would be negotiating a deal, through its FEC Overseas Investment Ltd. subsidiary, with a firm that operated gaming businesses in the Czech Republic. It detailed the firm as being TWC, which holds gaming licenses in the country, which allow it to offer “live and technical games” in three different casinos. The licenses were issued in January, and are valid for three years. The deal hinged on the approval of regulators in Nevada, where its overseas investment company is registered.
In acquiring the Czech Republic-based operations, FEC said that it “would add some of the best casino assets in the region” to the group, as well as providing an “additional stream of steady recurring cash flows and profits.”
TWC is also incorporated in Nevada, and is spread out all over the map. It owns and/or operates two four-star hotels and one three-star hotel in Germany and two four-star hotels, one each in Austria and the Czech Republic. It also has three casinos in the Czech Republic, all branded “American Chance Casinos.”
FEC has operations in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, Hungary, New Zealand and Australia, where it currently holds a 4.99% stake in The Star Entertainment Group Ltd. It joins Hong Kong’s Chow Tai Fook Group, which acquired the same 4.99% stake, and Star Entertainment in a casino project being pushed for Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane, Australia.
FEC made its public appearance on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972. It has received several awards, including the ‘7th Asian Excellence Award’ and ‘Best Mid-Cap Company’ in 2017. Its net profit margin climbed 1.7% between 2016 and 2017, increasing from 21.4% to 23.1%.
