Hong Kong ‘Shop King’ Tang Shing-bor’s family sells Mong Kok hotel at throwaway price
A joint venture between Hong Kong developer Wang On and US investment firm Angelo Gordon buys Mong Kok hotel for US$55 million, sources say
Hong Kong developer Wang On Properties and US investment firm Angelo Gordon have jointly acquired a hotel in Mong Kok from the family of the late “Shop King” Tang Shing-bor for around a third of the original price.
The 199-room Hotel Ease Mong Kok on 60 Portland Street was bought by a joint venture between Wong On subsidiary Prime Resonance and Angelo Gordon-managed ADPF Oregon, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday.
The joint venture would be committing about HK$291.04 million (US$37.1 million) towards the acquisition, with Prime Resonance contributing HK$43.66 million and ADPF Oregon HK$247.38, giving them a stake of 15 per cent and 85 per cent, respectively, according to the statement.
The buyers paid about HK$435 million for the hotel, according to a source familiar with the matter – a loss of HK$665 million, or 60 per cent, when compared with Tang’s HK$1.1 billion investment in 2018. The Tang family put the asset up for sale in early 2023.
Hong Kong has become a magnet for hotel investments after some investors snapped up assets on the cheap this year, banking on a recovery in tourism and shrinking room supply to brighten the industry outlook.