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May 06 2024

Star Vegas' Thai Bender Joins Donaco Board

When Donaco International bought Cambodia's border casino for US$360 million in 2015, a person identified as one of the Thai suppliers of the Star Vegas resort and club joined Donaco's board, according to a Monday filing with the Australian Stock Exchange.

The appointment of Lieberg Huey and another person, Paul Fornatat Amatavivadana, as non-executive directors of the company was planned in connection with Donaco's recent fundraiser.

In a filing on Friday, the company reiterated that Star Vegas (file photo), located in Poypet, Cambodia, which is hosting many gambling customers, has been closed since April 1 due to COVID-19 measures.

Donaco's other gaming operations, Aristotel International Hotel, and related casinos, Laoqai on the Vietnam-China border, also closed on April 1 due to the pandemic but were able to reopen in May.

Group sales fell more than 95% in the three months ended June 30, and the company aims to keep its cash burn rate between $800,000 and $900,000 per month amid a business slump related to the coronavirus pandemic, Donaco's Friday filing said.

Liebig Hui - One of the Thai suppliers of Cambodian venue Star Vegas, the company acquired Donaco's latest rights offer, along with Liebig Tong, another person listed in the Donaco dossier. As of July, the same two people own a 17.99% stake in Donaco, and in the latest offer, they were set to increase their related stake in Donaco to 42.12%. The two investors had previously filed a lawsuit with Donaco Group.

"The appointment of directors of [Rieberg] Hui and Amatavivadana is being made in accordance with the terms of the acquisition agreement relating to the qualification offer," Donaco said in a filing on Monday.

The rest of Donaco's board "looks forward to working with both of them," the announcement said.

According to the filing, Liebig Huey is vice president of casinos at Star Vegas Casino and Resorts Inc., "who was responsible for model development for the slot machine business."

The new board member "has significant experience in gaming and casino management and previously served as the company's executive director," according to the release

Amatavivadana, who previously served as a non-executive director at Donaco, is described as the founding principal and chief executive of Infinite Capital, a boutique corporate advisory firm based in Bangkok, Thailand. The filing states that he has "significant experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and raising capital."