PH Resorts Group eyes sale of assets

MANILA  -Davao-based tycoon Dennis A. Uy’s PH Resorts Group Holdings divulged plans to sell certain assets as it struggles to get its casino projects off the ground.

In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, PH Resorts said it will seek shareholders’ approval to allow the board to “determine the terms and conditions for the disposition of some assets by some of its subsidiaries”. It did not identify the assets to be sold.

PH Resorts attempted to insert the plan in its agenda for its upcoming shareholders’ meeting on July 26 after it issued its definitive information statement last June 1.

However, the request was rejected by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said on Wednesday.

This means the matter will be taken up in another meeting.

Joseph Roxas, president of stock brokerage house Eagle Equities Inc., said it was not unusual for companies to insert items in the agenda “to save time and effort [instead of] holding another meeting”.

He explained that the SEC rejection was likely due to the late timing of the request because their annual meeting was coming up next week.

PH Resorts suffered a setback last March after billionaire Enrique Razon Jr.’s Bloomberry Resorts Corp. said it had terminated a proposed deal to invest in the Cebu and Clark casino projects of the company.

READ: Razon pulls out of casino investment deal with Davao’s Dennis Uy

“With this development, the group reentered into discussions with other parties that were previously put on hold due to the contemplated investment by [Bloomberry],” PH Resorts said in its latest quarterly filing.

In May last year, Bloomberry signed the term sheet to invest in PH Resorts’ companies Lapulapu 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.

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