Sands China’s weak debut in Hong Kong - a first-day drop of 10 percent – was the fourth-worst launch on that market this year, but came as little shock to analysts who were betting against the Asian gambling play. Rival Wynn Macau is down 5 percent since listing in October.

Sands China’s $2.5 billion IPO wasn’t helped by the default tremors kicked off by Dubai, which has helped to expose a whole new area of risky bets in emerging markets.

“The fever for casino stocks is seen to be over now,” said Patrick Yiu, a director at CASH Asset Management. “Investors are worrying about the industry outlook, especially keen competition, when more casinos are ready for business.”

“We’re not in this for a day’s trading, we’re in it for the long term,” Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson said.

So is this a time to hold ‘em, fold ‘em, walk away or run? Adelson clearly is not counting his money while sitting at the table, and there will be many who argue that betting against the Chinese appetite for gambling never made anyone rich. More likely, fund managers will look for more attractive price points to place their bets, while Sands plays with house money.

Pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers will ask Britain’s takeover watchdog to rule whether rebel shareholders are attempting to gain control of the group after they blocked the appointment of a chairman.

Piedmont, an investment vehicle owned by billionaire Joe Lewis that owns 23 percent of M&B, obstructed the appointment of an independent chairman and vetoed three candidates at the final stage despite being involved in the hiring process from its beginning.

In other M&A and corporate finance news reported by Reuters and other media:

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) might still be interested in buying General Motors’ Saab unit, the Chinese car company’s general manager says. “I would just say, ’stay tuned a little bit’,” he says.

Honiton Energy Group has hired Morgan Stanley to help the China-focused wind power developer lure a new investor, in a deal that could value the entire company at up to $250 million, two people familiar with the details say.

Deutsche Boerse says it will not increase its bid for a controlling stake in the Warsaw Boerse after the Polish government requested an improved offer for the exchange.

Dubai World refuses to offload assets at fire sale prices to repay obligations, forcing it to seek a debt standstill, al-Ittihad reports, quoting an unnamed source at the government-controlled firm. For the Reuters story click here.

Promethean, a UK based maker of interactive white boards, is planning to float in a deal that could value it at up to 500 million pounds, the Financial Times reports.

In other signs the European IPO market will warm up next year, UK budget airline Flybe and five oil companies are planning flotations in London next year which are expected to value them collectively at 1.5 billion pounds, the Sunday Times said.

Dubai World’s trouble paying its debt obligations may not be too surprising when you consider some of the dubious investments it has entered into over the past few years. A case point is Dubai World’s ill-fated voyage into the business of building and selling submarines for recreational use.

In September, Dubai World filed a lawsuit in federal court in Florida against one of its former executives, claiming Herve Jaubert caused more than $30 million in losses for the Middle Eastern-based company. Dubai World claims Jaubert used a Florida-based company he controls to “overcharge” Dubai World for submarines Jaubert either couldn’t manufacture or didn’t work.

Dubai World says it entered into a deal with Jaubert on the basis of his claims that “he had designed submarines that were ready for production” and he was a “naval engineer who was an expert in submarine design.” On the basis of those claims, Dubai World formed a company called Exomos in 2003 to oversee the manufacture and sale of “luxury recreational submarines” and tapped Jaubert as the CEO of the new business.

But Dubai World, in court papers, says it subsequently learned that Jaubert did not have the expertise he claimed. The complaint alleges that a number of the submarines and submarine parts Exomos purchased from a company allegedly controlled by Jaubert either didn’t work, or were sold at inflated prices.

One submarine, for instance, “caught on fire and was damaged.”

The Dubai World lawsuit is just the latest twist in an unusual story involving claims of fraud and false imprisonment. Jaubert, who now resides in Florida, has charged he was forced to flee from Dubai in 2007 over the matter and that Dubai World has maligned his character.

It will be up for the courts to sort this all out. But none of this speaks well of Dubai World’s due diligence before going into a speculative ventures.

Highlights from this week’s Thomson Reuters Investment Banking Scorecard:

6TH LARGEST IPO OF THE YEAR
In this week’s second largest ECM transaction Sands China, the Macau operations of US based Las Vegas Sands raised $2.5 billion on the Hong Kong stock exchange. It is the 6th largest IPO of the year and the second of its kind in a couple of months after Wynn Macau, a subsidiary of US based Wynn Resorts raised $1.9 billion in September.
Follow On activity is up 35% when compared to the same period last year with $528 billion and it also accounts for 75% of total ECM activity so far this year.

GLOBAL CORPORATE BOND ISSUANCE UP
The top two bonds issued this week are both investment grade corporate debt issues which are both above the $1 billion mark. UNEDIC and CDP Financials with $5.9 billion and $4.9 billion.
Global corporate bonds reached $2.4 trillion so far this year up 11% when compared to the same period last year. Corporate bond issuance also makes up 46% of total bond activity this year.

M&A HITS 5 MONTH-HIGH
Global announced M&A in November totaled $234 billion and marks the second busiest monthly level of activity of the last twelve months after June 2009 ($275 billion).
There were ten transactions in excess of $1 billion announced this week, including the $1.7 billion takeover of UK based JPMorgan Cazenove by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Auto maker General Motors is grappling with the future of its European units Saab and Opel after one sale collapsed and the other was pulled, targeting the bulk of its 9,000 job cuts at Opel’s German factories.

Bookseller Borders UK called in the administrators yesterday, adding its name to a growing list of failed British high street retailers. Administrator MCR is hoping to sell the business, bought by Valco (the private equity arm of turnaround specialist Hilco) in July this year, as a going concern.

Lachlan Murdoch, son of News Corp chief executive Rupert Murdoch, sold some $27.6 million of his shares in his father’s company as he bought 50 percent of Daily Mail & General Trust’s radio operations in Australia.

For the latest deals news from Reuters, click here.

And here’s the top stories from elsewhere (some external links may require subscription):

Concerns over Dubai World’s debt dominated the news as stocks around the world tumbled and markets struggled to get to grips with the extent of the problem in the absence of solid information, says the Financial Times.

Siemens AG’s hearing aids business, valued at up to 3 billion euros, is drawing interest from private equity firms including KKR and BC Partners, Bloomberg writes.

Shares in banks, builders and companies part-owned in the Middle East fall around the world, and investors seek safety in government bonds on worries about Dubai’s ability to pay its debts.

Meanwhile, global miner BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) dismisses talk that rival Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) is baulking at a proposed $116 billion joint venture in iron ore, insisting the two are close to a binding agreement.

For the latest deals news from Reuters, click here.

And here’s the top stories from the newspapers (some external links may require subscription):

The charitable trust that’s the major shareholder in Hershey has sought the approval of the Pennsylvania attorney general for a possible $17 billion bid for Cadbury, the British confectioner being beseiged by US foods group Kraft, the WSJ writes. Hershey, which is weighing a solo $17 billion bid, as well as a possible joint bid with Italy’s Ferrero, needs the blessing of attorney general Tom Corbett before it can push ahead with plans to consummate a deal.

United Utilities has put its last non-core businesses on the block, the Times says. The sale of its last remaining non-regulated businesses in the UK, Australia and the Middles East, including outsourcing contracts with Welsh Water and British Gas Trading, could raise some 270 million pounds.