The battle for control of the empire built by Stanley Ho appears to be over. According to a statement released by the King of Gambling, reported by the South China Morning Post, all four branches of his family have agreed on how to split up his assets in STDM and SJM.

Details remain to be clarified, of course. We are not yet sure if this means that Angela Leong, Wife No. 4, will return her shares in SJM that Stanley transferred to her late last year, or whether control of Lanceford and Stanley’s personal stake in STDM, allegedly seized by Chan Un-chan, No. 3, and the children of Lucina Laam, No. 2, will also return to the patriarch pending settlement. In other words, we are not yet sure of who is in possession of what.

What appears to be a given is that neither of the two main parties in the dispute, No. 4 and No. 2, has a commanding advantage over the other. No. 4 was specifically quoted as saying that the agreement will not affect the composition of the SJM board of directors. This means that, although No. 2 supposedly controls the board of STDM, parent of SJM, exerting control over the listed company is not guaranteed. Clearly, someone from among the rest of the STDM shareholders has intervened or been instructed to ensure that the issue of replacing SJM directors will not be brought onto the table when shareholders gather next week for the annual general meeting. Given that the Fok Foundation, Cheng Yu-tung, Winnie Ho, and “others” control more than 50% of the voting shares in STDM, it is not difficult to see how influence could have been brought to bear on this issue by whomever was appointed by whomever to mediate.

But the settlement also suggests that No. 4 even though she is managing director of the gaming company and in close alliance with the current management team of CEO Ambrose So and COO Louis Ng cannot ignore every other wish of whomever is voting the proxy for STDM at the AGM. Last year, that was Daisy Ho.

So what we really have here is an agreement to achieve peace in our time, rather than a peace for all time. But we also have to wonder who it was that stepped in to mediate the dispute. And whether that influence will continue to be wielded behind the scenes, especially once the patriarch goes to that great casino in the sky. On current observations, we would assume so, especially when there is so much revenue flowing through SJM’s gaming license that belongs to people other than those who signed this ceasefire agreement. But stranger things have happened in this family saga before.

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