Summit Ascent, a Hong Kong-listed company led by billionaire Lawrence Ho, said today it plans to sell 52 million new shares representing a 7% stake in the company to help fund its additional investment in a casino in Russia.
The shares will be sold for HK$11.30 each and are expected to raise HK$566 million, or about $73 million. That price is a discount to the company’s last traded price of HK$12.86.
The funds will also be used for general working capital.
The company announced yesterday plans to raise its stake the casino to 60% from a previous 46%.
(See earlier story here.)
The project is north of China’s Heilongjiang Province, and the investment is expected to give Summit Ascent a early-mover advantage in an eastern Russian market full of promise since Russia eased rules on casino invests in 2009.
Active gambling by mainland Chinese has helped Macau to overtake Las Vegas as the world’s biggest casino hub. Melco International’s
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