Family Feud May Prevent Ho IPO Again

8 July 2008

Winnie Ho Yuen-ki, the estranged sister of Stanley Ho Hung-sun, chair of SJM Holdings, appeared in a High Court in Hong Kong on Tuesday in an effort to stop the $500 million public offering of her brother's Macau-based casino empire.

Ms. Ho's application, filed last-minute at the Court of First Instance, seeks to "bring up and quash" a decision by the Securities and Futures Commission to approve Mr. Ho's I.P.O listing and prospectus, reports Xinhua News.

Ms. Ho claims the I.P.O. is illegal and contrary to the policy of the Hong Kong government not to promote gambling.

The move is the latest in a long-running legal feud between the siblings over who should control and profit from the gaming empire.

Judge Anselmo Reyes said he would make his decision on the court bid tomorrow, the news agency said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ho has already secured the requisite number of orders for the I.P.O. and the company is set to begin trading on Thursday.

Ms. Ho successfully blocked her brother's first attempt at taking SJM public in 2007.