Ym Yik/European Pressphoto AgencyPansy Ho, the chairwoman of MGM China, is the daughter of the gaming tycoon Stanley Ho.
A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and the daughter of a Hong Kong casino mogul raised $1.5 billion on Friday in its initial public offering, highlighting the strong appetite for stocks that have a large exposure to China.
MGM China, whose main asset is a giant hotel and casino in the Chinese gambling hub of Macao, said in a statement Friday that it had priced its shares in the offering at 15.34 Hong Kong dollars ($1.97) — at the top of a previously announced price range.
With total proceeds of $1.5 billion, MGM China’s market debut in June will be one of the largest in Hong Kong so far this year.
It takes total issuance volumes on the city’s stock exchange since Jan. 1 to $18.9 billion — 215 percent more than the total raised during the same period last year, according to Dealogic — underscoring the rapid growth the Hong Kong stock exchange has enjoyed in recent years.
Hong Kong was the No. 1 market for I.P.O.’s in 2010: volumes last year topped $52 billion, according to Thomson Reuters, easily outperforming the New York Stock Exchange’s total of $35 billion.
Most of this activity has been Chinese companies listing in the city. However, Hong Kong is increasingly becoming a destination for non-Asian companies.
Among others rushing to list in the city in coming weeks are the suitcase maker Samsonite, which is owned by the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. Samsonite is due to start its road show next week, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
Prada, the Italian luxury fashion house, is also lining up a listing in June. Analysts have said the I.P.O. could raise about $2 billion. The road show for the listing is expected to kick off June 6, a person with knowledge of the planned transaction has said.
The people describing the Samsonite and Prada deals spoke on condition of anonymity because the details were not yet public.
And Resourcehouse, a mining company owned by the Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, said in a statement on Friday that it would issue the prospectus for its planned market debut in Hong Kong ‘‘on or around’’ Monday, with a trading start expected on June 10.
Shares in MGM China, meanwhile, are expected to start trading on the Hong Kong exchange on June 3, according to the company’s statement. Pansy Ho, daughter of the longtime casino mogul Stanley Ho, is lowering her existing 50 percent stake in the company as part of the transaction. The proceeds from the sale will make her one of the richest people in China.
Gambling revenues in Macao, a former Portuguese colony about an hour’s ferry ride from Hong Kong, have soared in recent years, and now dwarf those of Las Vegas.
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=b31b6555d6f4a93d872df3db5ff17c01
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