June 27 (Bloomberg) -- Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., run by the family of casino tycoon Stanley Ho, will buy a 75 percent stake in a Macau property project from Ho's private company and billionaire Gordon Wu for HK$6.87 billion ($879 million).

Shun Tak will pay Wu's Hopewell Holdings Ltd. HK$4.58 billion for a 50 percent stake in the Nova City/Nova Taipa Gardens project in Macau, Hopewell said in a statement late yesterday. It will pay Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau HK$2.29 billion for its 25 percent stake, Shun Tak spokeswoman Catherine Szeto said.

The purchase will give Shun Tak full ownership of the project, up from 25 percent. Property prices in Macau, the only city in China where casinos are legal, are climbing as soaring gaming revenue and rising tourism boost the economy.

``We have a leadership role in the property market in Macau,'' Szeto said in a phone interview. The company has sufficient cash and existing financing to pay for the purchase, she said.

Shares in Hopewell rose 5.1 percent to HK$32.75 as of 10:21 a.m. in Hong Kong, heading for their biggest gain in more than a year.

Hong Kong-based Shun Tak is buying the shops at Nova Taipa Gardens and Nova City, the uncompleted residential phases four and five of Nova City and all cash and receivables from units sold in the first three phases, the company said in a faxed statement late last night.

Real estate in Macau last year sold at an average 1,519 patacas ($189) per square foot, more than doubling from 2002, according to Midland Realty Ltd., a Hong Kong-based property agency.

Macau Economic Growth

Macau's economy may grow 16.5 percent this year and next according to Enoch Fung, a Hong Kong-based economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The economy grew 16.6 percent last year, more than twice as fast as its 6.9 percent expansion in 2005.

Last year, Shun Tak and Hongkong Land Ltd. sold all 800 apartments at One Central Residence, a luxury real estate project in Macau at an average price of about HK$5,000 per square foot. The apartments are scheduled to be finished in 2009.

In addition to developing real estate, Shun Tak also operates the main ferry service linking Hong Kong to Macau and manages hotels. Hong Kong-based Hopewell develops real estate, runs hotels and owns stakes in toll roads in China.

Macau has a population of about 500,000, compared with Hong Kong's 6.9 million. The former Portuguese colony is one-40th the size of Hong Kong.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joshua Fellman in Hong Kong at jfellman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 26, 2007 22:27 EDT