Paradise offers treasury shares to raise funds

Jul 11, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia  

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South Korean casino operator Paradise Co Ltd has offered 7.5 million treasury shares to raise KRW285.8 billion (US$281.2 million) in funds for its operations, Reuters reports.

The money may also be partially used to  fund a potential acquisition, the company said. Goldman Sachs was the sole book runner of the block sale.

Paradise announced on Monday it was dropping a deal to acquire a controlling stake in hotel company Parnas Hotel Co.

Paradise currently runs five foreigner-only casinos in South Korea, namely in Seoul, Incheon, Busan and two in Jeju.

The company is developing a casino resort 40 kilometres (24.9 miles) west of Seoul. The US$1.7-billion property will include hotels and restaurants, and a foreigner-only casino. The project, to be ready by 2017, is a joint venture with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.

Korean casinos currently only permit foreigners to gamble, except at Kangwon Land, a difficult-to-access location 150 kilometres southeast of Seoul in Kangwon Province.

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