HONG KONG - Morocco's King Mohammed VI is among a number of investors embroiled in a bitter financial restructuring of a loss-making Macau casino and hotel firm, a report said Tuesday.
The king is one of about 20 wealthy people who were sold a 400 million dollar stake in Macau Legend, the South China Morning Post cited sources as saying.
The investors, who bought the stake from investment bank Merrill Lynch in 2006, anticipated a quick profit from a listing of the Fisherman's Wharf theme park on the Hong Kong stock exchange earlier this year, the report said. But the listing never happened.
The list of those who lost out also includes David Ross, co-founder of Carphone Warehouse, Britain's largest mobile phone retailer, and a group of hedge funds.
The Wharf, a tourist attraction next to the Macau ferry terminal with its signature giant man-made volcano, was owned jointly by Macau Legend and the city's gaming tycoon Stanley Ho. But it has been losing money since it opened in 2005, sources told the Post.
The investors, who have failed to agree on a compensation deal with David Chow, owner of Macau Legend and a lawmaker in the gaming enclave, last week held a four-hour conference call to discuss the next step, the Post said.
Some of the investors considered seizing control of the theme park or its Babylon Casino next door.
Chow offered in April to buy his preference shareholders' stake in the company for 200 million dollars, but he missed a June deadline to pay the money. He returned to his investors last month with a 100 million dollar offer, which was rejected.
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