Hong Kong-listed LET Group Holdings has revealed that its $116 million deal to sell its gaming license for the Tigre de Cristal Resort in Vladivostok, was prompted by concerns surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In the same Hong Kong Stock Exchange dispatch, the group, formerly Suncity Group, also revealed that all its independent non-executive directors resigned due to their disapproval of the deal, effective from January 15th.
According to the company, the decision opposed by the directors involved the sale by Oriental Regent Limited, an indirect non-wholly owned subsidiary of LET Group, to sell the entire stake in its wholly-owned G1 Entertainment LLC, an entity that possesses the gaming license for Tigre de Cristal, which the Russian government has officially granted.
The deal is valued at $116 million, which will be paid in Chinese yuan, to a Russian company, with the deal to be completed out of the country due to sanctions imposed in the nation amongst the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
At the time that the deal was announced, Oriental pledged that if the transaction is completed it will return the company’s investment of $28 million, and the company’s future exposure to the Russian market will be reduced to zero.
LET Group, and its subsidiary Summit Ascent, justified the sale on the ‘uncertainties arising from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and related sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation, which are adversely affecting the operations and prospect of G1 Entertainment’.
A ‘further announcement will be made by the company if and when appropriate after due consideration and evaluation’, the company added.
Despite the director’s resignation, Summit Ascent and LET Group have respectively announced that only casino investor Andrew Lo Kai Bong remained as a director and chairman for both companies.
