Joey Lim Keong Yew and Ben Lim Keong Hoe, grandsons of Genting founder, the late Lim Goh Tong, and nephews of current CEO and chairman KT Lim, are behind a reverse takeover that could give the Australian company a 75 percent stake in an expanding casino and hotel complex in Vietnam.
Donaco Singapore, the business controlled by Joey Lim and Ben Lim, will obtain 95 percent of Two Way, to become renamed Donaco International Ltd.
In spite of the close household link to Genting, Joey Lim stated there were no economic ties amongst Genting and Donaco.
The deal comes as Genting, which owns many resorts and casinos across Asia under a variety of subsidiaries, seeks to raise its stake in Australia’s Echo Entertainment (EGP.AX), which can be also being targeted by Australian billionaire James Packer.
“They are two isolated occasions that just so happened to occur at the same time,” Lim told Reuters in an interview. “We have each have our own individual objectives and targets and we’ll pursue them independently and objectively.”
The listed group will initially focus on the expansion with the Lao Cai International casino and hotel complicated in Vietnam, which represents all of Donaco’s assets, but is also preparing two comparable tasks and a casino cruise ship.
Two Way, which has a industry capitalization of about $4.5 million, has been producing interactive television wagering applications which are being utilized in Australia.
Donaco had regarded as Singapore and Hong Kong to invest but believed markets there were saturated with offerings from areas like gaming mecca Macau, Lim mentioned.
“We felt we could bring a really compelling package to Australian investors within the form of a gaming play in a single from the emerging markets together with the highest growth on the planet,” he mentioned.
The expansion of Lao Cai to a 428-room hotel using a casino housing 26 gaming tables and 150 slot machines, due for completion next year, is expected to supply a significant increase to revenue.
Lao Cai had revenues of $12.1 million and profit after tax of $6.three million final year. Revenue was up 38 percent inside the initial six months of this year, the firm stated.
Mak Siew Wei, an executive director of Donaco who will join the Two Way board, stated two related casino-hotel tasks in two other Asian nations were “far along” the preparing stages, but declined to offer additional specifics because of the sensitivity of licensing negotiations.
“The expertise or the assets we would like to appear at would typically be at border towns where you could tap both country’s consumers,” he mentioned.
The business has also identified a cruise ship it intends to buy to get a planned route in China. Other possibilities contain genuine estate investments and gaming possibilities online and inside the Television market place in China.
Lim mentioned Donaco planned to tap capital markets for financing “in the near future”, possibly the second or third quarter of subsequent year.
Two Way shareholders will vote on the deal on November 22.
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