Success Universe chairman increases stake in casino company

In a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Success Universe Group (SUG) announced that its chairman and executive director, Sonny Yeung Hoi Sing, had bumped up his stake in the company from the previous 52.10% to 71.52%.  Through his company, Silver Rich Macau, Yeung now controls over 3.52 billion SUG shares.

Part of the increase came through a deal with Japanese pachinko hall operator Maruhan Corp. The company sold its entire stake to Silver Rich for a cash payment of approximately $26.8 million, relinquishing all stocks at about $0.02 apiece.

SUG operates a number of operations across several sectors. Its portfolio includes businesses in travel-related fields, property investments and an investment project, Ponte 16. Ponte 16 is an integrated resort-casino located in the Inner Harbor of Macau. It includes a five-star hotel and casino and will soon see an entertainment and retail complex included. The casino offers 270,000 square feet of gaming space with 109 gaming tables, 3 VIP clubs and around 300 slot machines. It was built following a partnership between SUG and a subsidiary of SJM Holdings, which owns 51% of the operations.

In its financial report for 2017, SUG reported operating revenue of $75 million, with gross profits of around $2.56 million. It added that its 2017 losses had narrowed slightly compared to the previous year. In 2016, the company reported losses of $3.95 million and last year, the losses were only $3.79 million. Part of last year’s losses came from the disposal of the firm’s China-based lottery businesses in September.