Empire East drops talks with Okada

A property firm controlled by Filipino tycoon Andrew Tan ended joint-venture talks with Kazuo Okada in Entertainment City after the Japanese billionaire announced a deal to partner with other Filipino groups to address a thorny land ownership issue.

Tan’s Empire East Land Holdings Inc. said in a filing at the Philippine Stock Exchange that it has decided “not to pursue further discussions” with Okada, citing potential risks to the venture and pressure from public shareholders.

Empire East signed in July 2012 an agreement to build as many as 25 residential towers covering about a third of Okada’s 44-hectare casino and hotel complex, which was dubbed Manila Bay Resorts and would be built at a cost of $2 billion.

The builder, a subsidiary of Tan’s Megaworld  Corp., said as recently as last month that it remained keen on the partnership even as Okada’s Group, which holds the casino license, sought to address a constitutional  restriction on foreigners owning land after talks with Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land fell through.

That solution was announced at the end of last month, when Okada’s Universal Entertainment Corp. said it had signed a property deal with Antonio-led Century Properties Group Inc. and a privately held firm called First Paramount Holdings 888 Inc.

That transaction, which has yet to close, would give the Filipino companies 60 percent of Eagle 1 Landholdings Inc., the Japanese group’s property affiliate in the country. Miguel R. Camus