Dogged by 37 lawsuits and copious servings of drama, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau Holdings Ltd., a casino company part-owned by Stanley Ho Hung-sun, finally went to market in a $493.5 million float Wednesday.
Shares dropped 1.3 percent on their debut, reflecting caution among retail investors wary of new stocks and future lawsuits from Mr. Ho's estranged sister, Winnie Ho Yuen-ki.
"Market sentiment looks lacklustre with more people adopting a wait-and-see approach," Tam Siu-hing, a director at Champlus Asset Management, told the South China Morning Post. "The thin volume shows that they are not keen on new offerings are awaiting opportunities to buy cheap."
Shares were placed at 39 cents and traded between 33 cents and 40 cents before closing at 38.9 cents. According to The Morning Post, around $32 million in shares traded hands.
"It has been a long battle for SJM over the past years," Mr. Ho said at Wednesday's listing ceremony. "We've been through a number of hurdles to achieve the milestone and I am sure SJM will grow bigger and stronger given the proper outlook of the Macau gaming industry.
"I am really satisfied with the trading performance amid a bad market," he added.
Mr. Ho scrapped plans in January to launch a $1 billion float on delays associated with legal challenges brought by Ms. Ho.
More than half of the company's retail investors, meanwhile, withdrew their orders for the initial public offering on concern regarding Ms. Ho, forcing Deutsche Bank, sole advisor on the I.P.O., to pay $40.6 million to make up the difference.
Chris Krafcik is the editor of IGamingNews. He lives in St. Louis, Mo.