Japanese gaming conglomerate Universal Entertainment Corp says that one of its affiliate companies is planning to develop a plot of land close to the Okada Manila casino resort (pictured) in the Philippine capital, Manila. The update was part of a revision of the group’s business results forecast for 2023, published on Thursday.
In the latest statement, Universal Entertainment said Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc – a group subsidiary and promoter of Okada Manila – cancelled a portion of its land lease contracts with Eagle I Landholdings Inc. Eagle I is an affiliate of Universal Entertainment, in which the latter group has a 40 percent interest.
The parent company also said that Eagle I “intends” to develop a land plot with a total area of 9.4 hectares (23.2 acres) alongside Okada Manila. As such, it announced the cancellation of a lease contract for a 6.1-hectare portion of the land plot.
In March 2021, Universal Entertainment said it had terminated a deal to sell the plot of land near Okada Manila. The group stated at the time that the total value of the land sale amounted to approximately PHP13.18 billion (US$242.8 million, at current exchange rates).
The Japanese company said previously it had real estate development aspirations related to Okada Manila, and a wish to collaborate with third parties in order to “entice major brand hotels” to the Philippine market.
As a result of the land lease cancellation, Universal Entertainment stated on Thursday it was upping its forecast for full-year net income to JPY20.00 billion (US$152.9 million), from JPY10.00 billion. That was based on cost savings associated with the cancellation of rental contracts, among other factors linked to the land lease.
The Japanese conglomerate posted a net profit of nearly JPY11.51 billion for full-year 2022, on group-wide sales that rose 55.9 percent year-on-year, to just below JPY141.00 billion. That compared with a JPY19.05-billion loss in 2021.
In separate developments, Universal Entertainment said earlier this week that it was seeking to terminate a deal with United States-listed 26 Capital Acquisition Corp that would involve the listing in the U.S. of the operator of the Okada Manila.
26 Capital – a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on the Nasdaq stock market in the U.S. – said in a statement to GGRAsia that it was pursuing legal action against four entities linked to Universal Entertainment because they “were not honouring their contractual obligations” regarding the deal.
