Permira sells over half of its stake in Galaxy Entertainment

The block trade through Permira's special purpose vehicles involved 279 million shares, which were sold at a price of HK$21 on Wednesday morning, representing a 4.1% discount to the company's closing price on Tuesday.

According to a company statement filed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the shares were divested through private placement to a small selective group of investors.

Galaxy was Permira's maiden direct investment in Asia outside Japan.  The private equity firm first backed the casino operator in October 2007, when it became its second largest shareholder by investing $838 million, or at HK$8.42 per share, for a 20.51% stake. One year later, it purchased a further 0.6% stake for HK$159.5 million.

Its divestment started last September, when it sold approximately 6.5% in the casino operator for HK$4.8 billion. The private equity firm owned 528 million shares, or a 12.8% stake, after the transaction.

The latest news came two days after Galaxy announced its first-half earnings on Monday. The company's revenue in the first half doubled year-on-year to HK$28.3 billion and its EBITDA increased 159% to HK$4.7 billion. Net profit increased to HK$3.4 billion from HK$378 million.

As of 2011, Galaxy was the second largest casino operator in Macau, with a 19.5% market share after SJM, the company by Stanley Ho, which has a market share of 27%.

This is Permira's second transaction within a week. Last Friday, Permira, through its Ireland-based vehicle Consumer Equity Investments (CEIL), acquired Unison Capital's stake in Akindo Sushiro, a leading Japanese sushi restaurant. The deal values the company at $1 billion, including debt.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Exits
• Permira Advisers
• Exit