Galaxy gets some cash

The Galaxy Entertainment Group, one of six gaming concession-holders in Macau, is taking in a bucket of cash from institutional investors to help develop the rest of its massive land bank on Cotai.

In terms of the deal between Hong Kong-listed Galaxy and Permira, an international private-equity firm, Galaxy will receive HK$2.7 billion, of which it will use half to pay down debt and half to shore up its cash reserves. Another HK$1.3 billion (US$163 million) will be raised through a private placement to institutional investors, arranged by Merrill Lynch.

The Lui family (Galaxy Chairman Lui Che-woo and Vice Chairman Francis Lui), meanwhile, took HK$3.8 billion in cash from Permira, reducing their shareholding to around 52 per cent from 68 per cent previously, held through K Wah International Holdings and a family trust.