Razon pulls out of casino investment deal with Davao’s Dennis Uy
Enrique Razon Jr.
MANILA, Philippines — Billionaire Enrique Razon Jr. is pulling out of a deal to invest in the Cebu and Clark casino projects of Davao-based tycoon Dennis A. Uy’s PH Resorts Group Holdings, causing shares of the latter to fall on Wednesday.
Razon-led Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the operator of the Manila Bay integrated complex Solaire Resort & Casino, said its board approved a resolution to terminate the term sheet with PH Resorts subsidiaries signed 10 months ago or on May 6, 2022.
Bloomberry, which confirmed an article on Inquirer’s BizBuzz column on Wednesday, said the deal was being terminated “after considering the results of due diligence on the target companies and the projects.”
Shares of PH Resorts, part of Uy’s Udenna Group, fell fell 5.88 percent to P0.80 each while Bloomberry rose 2.13 percent to P9.10 per share.
PH Resorts recovered from a drop of as much as 9.4 percent after saying earlier in the session it had not received any formal communication of the deal termination and hinted it was “possible” to close the transaction with Bloomberry.
After trading hours, PH Resorts confirmed the deal was off and said it could pursue other investors.
“While it is unfortunate that a deal was not closed, this now allows both parties to pursue their own plans,” PH Resorts president Martin Escalona said in the filing.
“This development gives [PH Resorts] the opportunity to reenter into discussions with other parties that were previously put into the backburner due to the contemplated investment by Bloomberry,” he added.
The agreement with Bloomberry was deemed a welcome development, given Razon’s deep pockets and experience in gaming as casinos were starting to recover from the multi-year pandemic slump.
Razon to invest in Dennis Uy’s Cebu, Pampanga casinos
Bloomberry signed the term sheet to invest in PH Resorts’ companies LapuLau Leisure Inc., which is developing the Emerald Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Punta Engano, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, and Clark Grand Leisure Corp., which is developing The Base Resort Hotel and Casino in Clark in Pampanga.
Emerald Bay is set to rise on a 12.4-hectare beachfront property. It will offer hotel rooms, villas and 146 gaming tables and 729 gaming machines.
Meanwhile, The Base would be an “adventure-themed integrated resort” on a 4.4-hectare lot within Clark Global City.
