SJM Holdings to Sell 25% Stake in Hong Kong IPO, Document Says

SJM Holdings Ltd., a Macau casino operator part-owned by billionaire Stanley Ho, plans to sell a 25 percent stake in a Hong Kong initial public offering, said a document sent to investors.

SJM will offer 1.25 billion new shares, 85 percent of which will be reserved for international institutions, according to the e-mail sent by CLSA Ltd., which is helping arrange the sale.

The company last year said it planned to raise HK$15 billion ($1.9 billion) from a Hong Kong IPO. The sale has been delayed by Ho's sister Winnie Ho's attempts to block it, and will be half the originally planned size, the Chinese-language Ming Pao Daily reported Jan. 5.

SJM set aside another 5 percent of the IPO shares for its employees, leaving 10 percent of the offering for Hong Kong individuals, the e-mail said.

The company is poised to announce a 58 percent drop in profit to HK$1 billion for 2007, as rising labor costs and junket commissions hurt earnings, Hong Kong's English-language South China Morning Post said today, citing a report by BNP Paribas SA, which is also helping manage the sale.

SJM began to gauge investor demand for the offering yesterday, the CLSA e-mail said. It will begin taking orders from international institutions Jan. 15, South China Morning Post said, citing a sale document. The stock is expected to start trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange Feb. 1.