South Shore Holdings is trying to climb out of a financial hole. The company reported a loss of $55.38 million for the six-month period ending last September after a sizeable investment made in Macau’s The 13 Hotel, and is hoping that it can find a source of funds to help in its recovery efforts. It has now signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a potential investor to make that happen.
The MOU is a non-binding initial agreement that could lead to a “potential investment” in the company by an associate of one of the firm’s major shareholders. South Shore made the revelation known through a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday, adding that the investment would be provided to the company’s subsidiary that owns The 13. It didn’t specify the name of the shareholder or the potential investor were; however, it added that the MOU had been signed on January 4.
The 13 partially opened its hotel, after several delays, in August of last year. South Shore hopes to eventually include a casino at the venue and has previously indicated that it could possibly open sometime this year. The losses incurred by the company were a direct result of the venue’s development and were due to an “increase in finance costs, depreciation and amortisation charges and hotel operation expenses for the hotel segment.”
The amount of the investment reportedly will not exceed $191 million. The money would be used to reduce the amount of debt of the company’s subsidiary, according to the filing. The two parties involved have until April 4 to reach an agreement, or the MOU is invalidated.
South Shore also indicated that the MOU stipulates that the company will receive $8.923 million “by way of earnest money payments (to be applied towards a deposit in the event that a formal agreement is entered into, or otherwise to be refunded to the prospective investor in full).”
The deal is contingent upon agreement by the senior lenders of the target company. South Shore emphasized in its filing that there has yet to be any formal agreement made for the debt funding.
