A firm controlled by Levo Chan Weng Lin, CEO of junket operator Tak Chun Group, has bought a 20.65 percent stake in Macau Legend Development Limited for about US$173 billion (1.38 billion patacas), several local media outlets including Radio Macau, GGRAsia and IAG reported today.
According to the news reports, the stake was acquired on behalf of Perfect Achiever Group, a British Virigin Islands company solely owned by Chan, on Friday.
The reports, which cited information submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange earlier today, Chan had already owned an 0.11 percent stake in Macau Legend Development. Now, following the acquisition, he owns 20.75 percent of the company chaired by former Macau legislator David Chow Kam Fai, who holds a 29.9 percent stake.
The reports pointed out that Chan is now the second biggest shareholder after Chow in Macau Legend Development, which suspended trading - as reported by The Macau Post Daily on its website on Monday - in its shares with effect from 9 a.m. on Monday.
According to the Asian Gaming Brief website, "founded in 2009 and based in Macau, the Tak Chun Group is a junket operator which owns and operates gaming clubs in hotels. It also offers concierge services, limousine travel, catering, and ticketing services for performances, dramas, exhibitions, concerts, multicultural events, and sports events for its club guests."
The World Gaming Magazine (WGM) has described Chan as "one of Asia's most prominent gaming operators with 150 gaming tables across 11 VIP Rooms."
The Inside Asian Gaming (IAG) website in 2018 described Chan as a "Macau junket veteran, having started in the 1990s before liberalisation" of Macau's gaming industry in 2002.
The website of Macau Legend Development describes the company as "one of the leading owners of entertainment and casino gaming facilities in Macau, such as the Macau Fisherman's Wharf.
Macau Legend Development said in a statement earlier this month that it recorded a loss of HK$550 million for the first half of this year, compared with a loss of HK$107.5 million over the same six-month period of last year, due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Macau's tourism and gaming businesses.
