HK investors to buy a third of Manila Jockey Investments Corp.

A group of Hong Kong-based investors is acquiring a third of MJC Investments Corp.(MJIC)—the investment holding company of the Reyno family that owns Manila Jockey Club Inc.—for around P450 million. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MJIC said its board has already accepted the offer of the group, which is led by investment banker Cheah Teik Seng, to subscribe to the company's 450 million shares with a two-year lock-up period. Seng, with more than 20 years experience in the international investment banking industry, sits on the board of various private equity firms in Hong Kong, China and Malaysia. He is executive director of boutique group ECM Libra Financial Group Berhad and was former managing director of BNP Paribas in Hong Kong. Manila Jockey, one of Asia’s oldest racing clubs, remains as the controlling shareholder of MJIC. MJIC will use the new capital to develop the San Lazaro race track into a world-class entertainment hub in Manila to capitalize on a growing local economy and strong consumer spending. The shares to be issued will come from the latest increase in its capitalization from P1.5 billion.   MJIC earlier planned to put up a hotel within the San Lazaro Tourism and Business Park. The property was subject of a share swap deal with parent firm Manila Jockey. The planned world-class hotel is seen to complement the ongoing joint venture projects of Manila Jockey Club and Ayala Land, which comprise retail, residential and commercial areas. The upscale hotel, which will rise above a retail center, is expected to meet the demand for luxury hotels in Manila. MJIC is also planning to build a master-planned tourism complex with a golf course and marina in a 74-hectare coastal resort property in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. The company is also planning to construct a 3,000-square-meter lot in Boracay into a condotel. — KBK, GMA News