Philippines-based casino developer Bloomberry Resorts Corp says two of its subsidiaries have signed an agreement for a 10-year syndicated refinancing facility worth PHP40.00 billion (US$687.1 million).
This was a sixth amendment to refinance the existing PHP40.00-billion syndicated term loan facility obtained by the borrowers in February 2019 to finance partially the construction of Solaire Resort North, stated the parent company in a Wednesday press release.
Bloomberry runs Solaire Resort & Casino in the Philippine capital Manila, and in May last year opened Solaire Resort North (pictured), another gaming complex in Quezon City, northeast of Manila.
Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc and Sureste Properties Inc were the two Bloomberry units negotiating the fresh loan facility with a syndicate of lenders. BDO Capital & Investment Corp served as the lead arranger.
The amended facility carries a term of 10 years, or until February 2035, “while the principal payment schedule is structured such that heavier payments are made in the last three years of the facility,” said Bloomberry.
According to the announcement, the interest margin on the loan is 75 basis points lower than the original facility, and gives the borrowers the opportunity to fix the interest rate in the next 12 months.
“These features will lighten debt service requirements over the coming years and allow Bloomberry to benefit from anticipated interest rate cuts in the next months,” stated the casino firm.
The release cited Enrique Razon, Bloomberry chairman and chief executive, as saying: “Our recent refinancing activities optimise our cash flow by reducing annual interest and principal payments.”
“The timely refinancing of our PHP40-billion facility demonstrates our proactive financial management stance and our commitment to provide a consistent return of capital to our shareholders,” he added.
The latest announcement marked the second refinancing exercise completed by Bloomberry in the last four months.
In October, the company announced a PHP72.0-billion syndicated refinancing facility with a group of banks, to replace a PHP73.5-billion loan obtained in 2018.
In late December, Philippines-listed Bloomberry named Greg Hawkins as acting chief operating officer of Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc, the group’s operating unit. He was appointed to the role following the retirement of Thomas Arasi.
