Tanjong Plc has attracted another bid for its gaming business, this time from Datuk Lim Kang Hoo of construction outfit Ekovest Bhd.
The Business Times reported yesterday that Lim, who is the executive chairman of Ekovest, is now the third party to make a bid for Tanjong’s gaming operations, which is said to be valued at between RM2 billion and RM2.5 billion.
Tanjong’s gaming operations comprise the numbers forecast games operated by its unit Pan Malaysian Pools Sdn Bhd (PMP) and the lottery operations by Pan Malaysian Sweeps Sdn Bhd. PMP is said to have 24% of the local numbers forecast market.
Lim, who is also associated with the Danga Bay waterfront development project in Johor Bahru, has not confirmed nor denied his bid.
“I am a businessman and if I see a good investment opportunity, I will invest,” he was quoted by the Singapore Business Times. Lim was quick to tell the newspaper not to associate him with any political parties.
Earlier, MCA’s investment arm Huaren Holdings Sdn Bhd was rumoured to be interested in making a bid for Tanjong’s gaming assets via a group of businessmen aligned to the party. It was said that its purpose was to generate recurring incomes to fund its social projects such as those relating to Chinese schools.
MCA is no stranger to the gaming business as it formerly held stakes in the Multi Purpose group which operates Magnum 4D, another numbers forecast operator.
Nonetheless, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has denied those rumours.
Other than Lim of Ekovest, the other two parties that have openly expressed their interests in Tanjong’s gaming assets are businessman Datuk Yap Yeong Song and the Cheng family.
Yap, who is not new in the gaming sector, has put in a bid of RM2.25 billion for the gaming asset. He is the controlling shareholder of listed outfits Dutaland Bhd and Olympia Industries Bhd. The latter operates a numbers forecast business in Sabah.
Meanwhile, the Cheng family’s bid has not been disclosed. The family runs a gaming machine business in the Klang Valley and son Douglas is known for his establishment of the Dragon-i chain of Chinese restaurants.
Controlled by tycoon T Ananda Krishnan, Tanjong’s exit from the gaming business is said to be part of a restructuring exercise to make the group syariah-compliant, enabling it to tap into the energy and utility sector in the Middle East and North Africa. - by Sharon Tan
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