SJM cancels plan to buy Ponte 16, but pursues deal for L’Arc Macau

Integrated resorts operator SJM Holdings, one of the six licensed casino concessionaires in Macau, has abandoned a plan to acquire Ponte 16, which is among the firm’s nine satellite gambling venues directed to halt operations under the city’s revised gaming laws.

“Following a comprehensive business review and after a thorough assessment of long-term business planning, commercial considerations and resource prioritisation across the group’s portfolio, SJM Resorts will not proceed with the acquisition,” the Hong Kong-listed company’s principal subsidiary said in a statement on Thursday.

In June, SJM Holdings said it would shut seven of its satellite casinos this year and buy out the gambling halls of Ponte 16 and L’Arc Macau before directly managing them.

That plan was drawn up in response to the Macau government’s amended gaming laws in 2022, which gave the satellite casinos three years until December 31, 2025, to shift from a profit-sharing model to a structure where they are directly owned by the licensed concessionaires.

SJM Resorts on Wednesday entered into a termination agreement with Pier 16 – Entertainment Group Corp. SJM Resorts held a 51 per cent stake in Pier 16.

Cancelling the acquisition of Ponte 16 was a tactical move for SJM Holdings after it reported last week a 91 per cent fall in third-quarter net profit from a year earlier.