South Shore Holdings Ltd. must be very relieved. The company behind the The 13 Hotel in Macau has been able to fulfill a dream and dump a large portion of its holdings in the venue as it attempts to step away from the property that has only caused it grief since it opened. South Shore has announced that a handful of companies pooled their resources to purchase 50% of the venue, adding that the deal is wroth around $95.7 million.
Three companies joined up to purchase all or some of the interest in The 13 held by Falloncroft Investments Ltd., a South Shore subsidiary. They are all companies registered in the British Virgin Islands and include All Fame Developments Ltd, Ease Link Investments Ltd and Fine Intellect Ltd.
The latter of the three, Fine Intellect, is a subsidiary of real estate development company ITC Properties Group Ltd. Ease Link is owned by CST Group Ltd., a financial holding company out of Hong Kong, and All Fame is reportedly run by someone identified as Ma Ting Hung. CST was one of the companies mentioned in a previous announcement about an acquisition that was in the works. ITC controls 10.48% of South Shore.
The 13 has been anything but lucky for South Shore. Envisioned as an expanded property that would ultimately include a casino, the venue was never able to see its true potential and South Shore was ready to unload up to 50%. The new deal could be even better, though, as it gives Fine Intellect a two-year option to purchase another 30% of Uni-Dragon Ltd., the owner of New Concordia Hotel Ltd. and the sole beneficial owner of The 13.
South Shore announced the arrangement November 1, adding that, it and Falloncroft will need to “provide certain financial assistance to the disposal company” in accordance with a shareholders’ agreement. That assistance comes via a shareholder’s loan worth $31.9 million from Falloncroft and a provision by South Shore against an existing guarantee on the full amount of a bank loan for a reported $375.14 million. Falloncroft will also have to commit to “fund the loan service advance during the first three years after completion.” All financial assistance would come on a “non pro rata basis.”
As a result of the announcement, South Shore is back to being traded. It had been suspended from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since October 15, but the news of the new agreement gave the company the green light to return.
