Business tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. has offered to acquire the 16-hectare property in Entertainment City where his Solaire Resort & Casino (Solaire) operates,
Casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. said in a disclosure to the stock exchange wholly owned unit Sureste Properties Inc. submitted a bid to state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp to purchase the property. The property has a minimum bid price of P37.23 billion.
“The bidding is conducted by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. as owner of the land. SPI, the owner and operator of the hotel and non-gaming facilities in Solaire, is the lessee of the subject land,” Bloomberry said.
Sureste also submitted to Pagcor an offer to purchase the land by negotiated sale in the event the bidding fails.
Bloomberry said the first bidding conducted by Pagcor on Dec. 1, 2017 failed because no bidder made an offer.
Pagcor conducted a second round of bidding with the deadline of submission of bids scheduled on Jan 26.
Sureste currently holds a long-term lease on the same property up to July 11, 2033. The lease is extendable for another term under certain conditions.
Share price of Bloomberry on Friday fell 0.2 percent to 12.80.
The $1.2-billion Solaire Resort & Casino is the first integrated destination resort to open in Entertainment City. The complex includes a five-star hotel with 800 guest rooms, suites and villas, as well as retail, dining and gaming areas.
Bloomberry reported a net income of P5.96 billion in the first nine months of 2017, up 275 percent year-on-year, on record gaming revenues.
Nine-month gross gaming revenues reached P34.57 billion, up 23 percent from a year ago, driven by record VIP volume, mass table drop and electronic gaming machine coin-in.
Non-gaming revenues grew 44 percent to P2.46 billion, driven mainly by new shows in the Theatre, the opening of The Shoppes as well as improved hotel occupancy in both the Bay and Sky Towers at Solaire.
Average hotel occupancy stood at 90.9 percent, up 6.7 percentage point 84.2 percent on year.
