In Macau, local real estate firm Hong Hock Development Company Limited has reportedly signed a deal that it hopes will soon see it offload its entire interest in New Macau Landmark Management Limited for just over $589.74 million.

According to a report from the Macau Daily Times newspaper, New Macau Landmark Management Limited operates The Landmark Macau hotel and casino complex on the Amizade Strip while the initial sale agreement was announced on Thursday via a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The newspaper reported that the new owner of New Macau Landmark Management Limited is set to be a consortium of four businesses led by Dong Lap Hong Investment Company although the whole arrangement remains subject to approval from the government of Macau via its Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

Ben Lee, Managing Partner for Macau-based IGamiX Management and Consulting Limited, reportedly told the Macau Daily Times that the agreement represents ‘a straightforward property deal’ but that the ‘gaming part’ would ‘always be subject to government approval’.

“I don’t expect there to be any push-back from the government as the satellite casino system has been in place for a while and it is a market-recognized value,” Lee reportedly told the newspaper. “That is, the value of the casino is inseparable from the property.”

The newspaper reported that the sale is expected to see Dong Lap Hong Investment Company, which is controlled by the President of the Macau General Real Estate Association, Chong Sio King, hold a 58% stake in New Macau Landmark Management Limited with the remainder acquired by minority partners Tong Tak Cheng Real Estate, Tong Hong Wan Real Estate and Tong Lap Tak Real Estate.

The filing from New Macau Landmark Management Limited predicted that the transaction would lead to a profit before tax of about $423.09 million with these funds subsequently utilized for ‘Macau Fisherman’s Wharf redevelopment’ and to reduce ‘the group’s gearing level’.

The Macau Daily Times reported that the 862,189 sq ft casino inside The Landmark Macau currently offers some 77 gaming tables as well as 141 slots under a concession agreement with local casino giant SJM Holdings Limited. The newspaper additionally explained that Hong Hock Development Company Limited, which is controlled by local entrepreneur and politician Chow Kam Fai, proclaimed that it will provide additional facts on the transaction and its impact ‘as soon as practicable’ with shareholders expected to receive such information before the end of the month.