GGRAsia – Bloomberry open to sell South Korean casino complex: filing

Bloomberry open to sell South Korean casino complex: filing

Feb 29, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Philippine casino operator and developer Bloomberry Resorts Corp says it is “open to the possibility of selling its interest” in Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino (pictured) in Jeju, South Korea.

“There had been several expressions of interest and offers in the past,” stated the company in a Thursday filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The company made a clarification to the bourse following an article published by the Philippine Inquirer newspaper which said Bloomberry was “moving to sell” the South Korean complex.

Bloomberry stated in its latest filing: “There is no imminent deal with respect to the sale of Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino although there is growing interest on the property from potential buyers.”

Bloomberry, controlled by entrepreneur Enrique Razon, runs the Solaire Resort & Casino in the Philippine capital Manila. The company is also developing a casino resort project in Vertis, at Quezon City, expected to open in the first half of this year.

The Jeju property consists of a 202-room hotel with 2,000 square-metre casino (21,527 sq feet) casino, featuring 36 gaming tables and 20 electronic gaming machines, according to Bloomberry’s third-quarter 2023 earnings filing.

Bloomberry had announced in 2016 a deal to sell the complex to former Macau junket investor Iao Kun Group Holding Co Ltd, but that deal fell through within six months. The casino firm said it continued to operate Jeju Sun, after Iao Kun “failed to raise the funding necessary to consummate the sale”.

In December that same year, Mr Razon said Bloomberry was “not in a hurry” to look for new buyers for Jeju Sun, as that business was slowly starting to ramp up, according to media reports.

The property has since then been extensively revamped, with work completed in December 2019, according to Bloomberry.

The South Korean operation remained loss-making in the third quarter of 2023, posting a net loss of PHP86.2 million (US$.1.5 million) for the period, according to Bloomberry’s latest quarterly results.