Blocks in Sands China and Wynn Macau raise $253 million

When the Hang Seng Index erased the last of this year’s gains a couple of weeks ago, bankers predicted that the share price clump may trigger more block trades as investors try to secure some profit or perhaps cut their losses ahead of the half-year mark. Or as one banker put it, “there could be a lot of motivated sellers.”

Now there are signs that this is actually happening. Last night, US asset manager Waddell Reed raised a combined $253 million from the sale of small portion of its stakes in Hong Kong-listed Macau casino operators Sands China and Wynn Macau. Modelled on Temasek’s two sell-downs in Bank of...