ORDERS FILLED Sociedade de Jogos de Macau Holdings Ltd., a casino operator part-owned by Stanley Ho Hung-sun, has secured the requisite number of orders for its proposed $500 million initial public offering in Hong Kong next week.
According to the South China Morning Post, the retail offering, which was thought to have drawn a lukewarm response, was nonetheless oversubscribed, while the institutional offering was covered twice over.
"The market is really tough," an investment banker, who is advising on two other I.P.O.s, told the paper Wednesday. "The market has lost more than 1,000 points in the past seven trading days and there is no sign of a turnaround in the short term."
Observers have suggested retail investors -- individuals or small investors who trade shares privately -- were skeptical regarding the SJM Holdings float on weakness of the local I.P.O. market and anticipated lawsuits by Winnie Ho Yuen-ki, Mr. Ho's estranged sister and former business partner.
SJM Holdings was marketing 1.25 billion new shares at 3.08 Hong Kong dollars to 4.08 Hong Kong dollars, or 40 cents to 52 cents, in an effort to raise at least 3.8 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $486 million.
The company held a monopoly on casinos in Macau Special Administrative Region for 40 years until 2002, when the government opened up licensing to foreign operators.
Trading is set to begin on July 10.
UP London Capital Group Holdings, a financial spread betting company, said in a trading update Wednesday it expects first-half profits before tax to rise 50 percent over the same period last year.
"The improved performance has been driven by an increase in revenue and volume growth across the Group," Tom Mills, an analyst with Daniel Stewart & Co. in London, wrote in a research note Wednesday. "Current market conditions favour the business model."
London Capital's recent acquisition, FuturesBetting.com, a Gibraltar-based financial spread betting business, is set to go live later this month.
Mr. Mills forecasts full-year adjusted profits before tax of £13.5 million, earnings per share of 22 pence and diluted earnings per share of 7.3 pence.
He retains his "buy" recommendation and 450 pence price target.
London Capital, with a market capitalization of £112 million, was down 1.5 pence to 293 pence.
Chris Krafcik is the editor of IGamingNews. He lives in St. Louis, Mo.