The third gaming company in the Entertainment City project of Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp. may follow the lead of Bloombery Resorts Corp., operator of Solaire Resorts and Casino and Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts, builder of City of Dreams Manila in raising money from the stock market.
Tiger Resort, Leisure & Entertainment Inc., the group led by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, considers tapping the equities market to raise funds for the $2-billion Manila Bay Resorts, the third casino complex to rise in Parañaque City.
This was revealed by Okada’s local joint venture partner, businessman Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuangco in a recent interview with journalists. According to Cojuangco, a new company that would both own the land and the gaming facilities could be created and listed with the Philippine Stock Exchange.
As PSE listing rules require companies planning to go public to have a financial track record first, Bloomberry and Melco Crown opted for backdoor listing to list their shares without having to comply with the financial track record and raise funds for the completion of their multi-billion-peso resorts.
Bloomberry used Active Alliance Inc. as the backdoor listing vehicle while Melco Crown acquired Manchester International Holdings Unlimited Corp. Both firms have successfully raised funds from the stock market.
Would Tiger Resort follow the lead of Bloomberry and Melco Crown in listing with the PSE by acquiring an existing listed firm? We will find out before long, as the company will have to make the decision soon to ensure that Manila Bay Resorts opens by end-2016.