Hong Kong, 16 July 2008 – Baker & McKenzie recently advised SJM Holdings Limited (“SJM Holdings”), as Hong Kong and US law counsel, on its HK$3.85 billion / US$494 million global share offering.  The shares commenced trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 16 July 2008. 

The principal business of SJM Holdings is carried on through Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (“SJM”), which is one of the six Concessionaries and Sub- Concessionaries permitted by the Macau Government to operate casino games in Macau and is the largest casino operator in Macau in terms of gaming revenue, market share and number of casinos; operating 19 of the region’s 29 casinos.  The net proceeds from the global offering will be used to partly finance SJM’s acquisition of the remaining portions of Hotel Lisboa; project funding for new casinos, including Grand Lisboa, Ponte 16, Oceanus, The Pearl and L”Hermitage; and the balance will be used for general corporate purposes.

The Baker & McKenzie team was led by Partners CY Leung, Anthony Poon, Rosanna Chu (on Hong Kong law aspects) and Scott Clemens (on US law aspects).  The team had lead responsibility for legal documentation, drafting of the offer documentation, corporate and regulatory issues, liaison and clearances with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and general transaction management.

Deutsche Bank AG acted as the global coordinator, bookrunner and sponsor of the global offering.

Commenting on the deal, CY Leung, senior Partner of the Securities Group at Baker & McKenzie said, “We are delighted to have acted for SJM, the largest casino operator in Macau.  This is the IPO of yet another industry leader that we have completed and is the third largest IPO in Hong Kong in 2008.  Earlier in the year we acted on China Railway Construction Corporation Limited’s IPO, which is the largest IPO of 2008 so far, raising over US$2.3 billion.  Our involvement in this high profile IPO of SJM Holdings further fortifies our position as the premier legal advisor on mega-listings and fund raisings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by major corporates and Chinese state-owned companies.  Over the past few years, we have advised on the IPOs of industry leaders like China Coal, Shanghai Jin Jiang Hotels, China Shenhua, Air China, China Netcom and China Life.”