Malaysia’s Tanjong sells stake in Pacific Online

Malaysia’s telecommunications magnate, Ananda Krishnan, has begun to exit the Philippine gaming sector through the sale of almost the entire stake of its unit in lotto services firm Pacific Online Systems Corp.

The move was reportedly part of broader steps to make his empire more compliant with Islamic standards under Shariah law.

A filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange Thursday showed that a block of 34.59 million shares of Pacific Online, about 12 percent of the company, was crossed to unnamed buyers at P14 per share, a 7 percent discount from the previous day. The deal was valued at P484.25 million.

Pacific Online chair Willy Ocier, in  a text message, identified the seller as Pacific Automated Systems Corp., which he said was a local unit of Krishnan’s Tanjong Group in Malaysia.

Pacific Automated is listed as one of Pacific Online’s earliest shareholders with a little over 13 percent stake, the company’s website showed.

Ocier confirmed this, noting that buyers were a combination of “local investors and funds.”

“Tanjong already sold out of its lottery and gaming businesses in Kuala Lumpur. The sale of [Pacific Online] shares is part of that unwinding process,” Ocier said.

Tanjong Capital Sdn Bhd has been gradually exiting certain business segments. It sold its number forecast business Pan Malaysian Pools Sdn Bhd in 2011 and a power company, Tanjong Energy Holdings, in 2012.

Asset sales in recent years have made Krishnan one of the richest men in the region and the second-richest in Malaysia with a net worth of $11.7 billion, according to Forbes Magazine.

Tanjong is currently focused on leisure and property investments, its website showed.

Pacific Online rose 5.87 percent to P15.88 per share on Thursday, bucking a 0.15 percent decline for the country’s benchmark index, although trading volume remained thin.

The company is 35-percent owned  by Belle Corp., a listed company controlled by billionaire Henry Sy, which is developing a $1 billion casino in Entertainment City Manila.