CPG, Okada bury hatchet over soured casino resort deal

Property developer Century Properties Group has dropped its court case against the group of Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada over a soured property venture in Pagcor Entertainment City.

In a joint press statement on Thursday, CPG and the Okada group announced that a recent meeting had resulted in their property venture dispute being settled amicably.

The Antonio family-led real estate company said the reconciliation had transpired between the two firms “without conditions.” From hereon, Century wished the Okada group well in the continuation of the Manila Bay Resorts project.

“We recognize that the disagreement between our companies was a result of a misunderstanding of the issues, which were clarified in our meeting with Mr. Okada. We are now taking the appropriate legal steps to withdraw the case, as we focus our attention on more constructive matters. We wish the Okada group continued success in its projects,” CPG said in a press statement.

“The Okada Group thanks Century Properties for the opportunity to clarify and put the issues to rest. We take this opportunity as a big step toward moving forward with the development of the project, which we deem will be Asia’s best integrated resort that Filipinos will be proud of,” said the Japanese group’s spokesperson Kenji Sugiyama.

Century entered into an investment agreement with Okada’s Eagle I Landholdings Inc., Eagle II Holdco Inc. and Brontia Ltd. in 2013 for the development of a luxury residential and commercial project on a five-hectare property at the 44-hectare entertainment complex, Manila Bay Resorts.

The deal would have made Century 36-percent owner of Eagle 1, the holding firm that owns the estate where Okada’s gaming complex will rise. At the same time, CPG was set to build luxury residential and retail properties with over 300,000 square meters of gross floor area in a five-hectare site within the complex.