- According to Reuters, Greece would be selling 33% out of
its 34% stake in OPAP.
- The Greek government’s proposed sale of OPAP is part of
its privatisation plans to raise funds. OPAP is a lottery company, which also
takes bets in sports.
- OPAP is listed in Athens and its closing share price was
4.17 Euros.
- The Greek government’s 33% stake would cost about 439mil
Euros or RM1.7bil.
- It was reported that four consortia of Greek and foreign
companies were interested to buy the stake in OPAP.
- Apart from the Greek government, Fidelity Investments also
owns a 5% stake in OPAP.
- We wonder if the NFOs in Malaysia would be interested to
acquire the stake in OPAP. Some of the overseas ventures undertaken by the
Malaysian NFOs have not been successful.
- These include Magnum Corporation’s venture in Indonesia
and Tanjong PLC’s associate investment in Moscow. The companies had to make
provisions for their overseas investments subsequently.
- Berjaya Sports Toto bucks the trend with its 88%-stake in
Berjaya Philippines. Berjaya Philippines’ revenue increased 4% to Peso2bil
(RM146mil) YoY in FYE4/12 while its pre-tax profit rose 5% to Peso1.4bil
(RM103mil).
- We reckon that it would not be easy managing OPAP’s
operations due to the high tax rates. It has been reported that the Greek
government receives a royalty of 30% on certain games, while revenue from video
lottery terminals can be taxed as high as 35%.
- Currently, Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd (MPHB), which owns
Magnum and Berjaya Sports Toto (BST), are busy with their corporate
exercises.
- MPHB is due to list its non-gaming assets (excluding
stockbroking) by 1H2013, while BST is supposed to list its lottery operations
via a business trust on the Singapore Stock Exchange by year-end.
- We have HOLD recommendations on both MPHB and BST. MPHB’s
dividend yield is forecast at 4.8% for FY12F, while BST’s dividend yield is
expected to be at 7.2% for FYE4/13F.
Source: AmSecurities
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