Analysts differ on resolution to Ho family feud

Two analysts have differing opinions on whether or not a deal to resolve a family dispute over the empire of aging Macau casino kingpin Stanley Ho will actually halt the feud.

Ho, the 89-year-old ailing Hong Kong billionaire, gave a 6 percent stake in the parent company of his SJM casino holdings to his fourth wife, Angela Leong.

The agreement, announced last week, left Ho with a less than 1 percent stake in the operation. Ho’s other three families, including daughter Pansy Ho, hold 25.5 percent interest in the operation. Pansy Ho is 50-50 partners with MGM Resorts International in the MGM Grand Macau.

SJM, which owns the Lisboa and Grand Lisboa in Macau and has more than a dozen other small and mid-size casinos, is the leading operator in terms of marketshare in Macau.

Victor Zheng, University of Hong Kong assistant professor who specializes in inheritance and family businesses, thought trouble might continue.

“I think it is just the beginning,” Zheng told BBC. “If Mr. Ho passes away, then the problems will come to the surface again.”

Economist Jonathan Galaviz was hopeful family peace would ensue.

“No guarantees can ever be made when it comes to family disputes, but hopefully the family will work together,” Galaviz told the Macau Daily Times. “There is always the chance that different management styles and strategies will be disputed amongst shareholders of any publicly traded company.”

Zheng said Chinese tradition states that Ho should have given a greater share of the estate to the family of his first wife.

However, Galaviz said, “No single person seems to have absolute majority control of SJM, which means that the shareholder base seems fairly well distributed.”

Shares of SJM’s parent company are traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Galaviz said investors have responded positively to the family settlement. Shares of the company are up 9 percent in the last two weeks.

“There should be a higher level of institutional investor confidence in the company that comes along with what seems to be a final resolution to the dispute,” Galaviz said.