Donaco International Limited asks for permission to sanction minority investors

Asian casino operator, Donaco International Limited, has reportedly filed an official application that would penalize two of its minority shareholders by stopping them from selling or transferring any portion of their current stake.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, the Sydney-listed firm decided to take action against investors Patrick Tan Teck Lee and Gerald Nicholas Tan Eng Hoe after the pair recently called for its entire five-member board to be replaced. The two are allegedly friendly with company founders Joey Lim Keong Yew and Ben Lim Keong Hoe but were angered earlier in the year when this brotherly duo was stripped of their board positions over claims that they had defaulted on a company-linked loan.

Share sale:

Inside Asian Gaming reported that the application lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission would also forbid the two disgruntled investors from acquiring any further interest in Donaco International while vesting their current shareholding for sale.

Upcoming consideration:

Donaco is responsible for the casino inside the Aristo International Hotel in northern Vietnam and is reportedly set to hold an extraordinary general meeting on November 29 to discuss the requested board shake-up although Asian investments firm On Nut Road Limited, which holds an unmatched 19.25% shareholding, is known to be a supporter of the operator’s current leadership.

Future faith:

In lodging its request with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Donaco reportedly asserted that it was seeking the sanction against Patrick and Gerald Tan in order to prevent the pair from entering into any agreements ‘for the purpose of controlling or influencing the composition’ of its board or its future affairs. The firm also declared that such an attempt from the duo would contravene Section 606 of the Corporations Act of 2001 and the ‘substantial holding notice provisions’ contained within this Australian legislation.

The application from Donaco read…

“Donaco International Limited seeks interim orders including restraining the requisitionists and their associates from acquiring, transferring or disposing of any Donaco International Limited shares. Donaco International Limited seeks final orders including vesting the Donaco International Limited shares beneficially held by the requisitionists and their associates in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for sale.”