Bloomberry Resorts Corp, one of the biggest integrated resort operators in the Philippines, allegedly will try to sell Jeju Sun, its South Korean property.
Failed acquisition:
This is the second attempt to sell the casino since the first one failed eight years ago. The operator agreed upon a sale, but it never occurred.
Bloomberry is a parent company of Solaire Resort Entertainment City, a leader in the Philippines casino industry. The company decided to focus on the expansion of this key market and to close all its foreign operations, so Jeju Sun had to be listed for sale.
While its South Korean operations are closing, the company focuses on the Philippines expansion, so its second integrated resort in Manila, Solaire Resort North, is expected to be opened soon. On top of that, the company already plans the construction of the third resort in Ternate, Cavite.
Jeju Sun hasn’t been profitable for a while. In September last year, the casino reported an EBITDA loss of US$911.000, while gross gaming revenue in this quarter was US$262,000.?
As Inside Asian Gaming reports, Juan Paolo Colet, Managing Director at investment bank China Bank Capital Corp, said: “The Korea operations have been a losing proposition for Bloomberry, so it makes sense for them to divest from that market. At this time, Bloomberry is more focused on domestic growth, but I will not be surprised if they eventually reinvigorate their international strategy.”
The first attempt to sell South Korean property failed in 2016. The company tried to sell 96.2% of its stake to the Iao Kun Group, but it wasn’t successful, and back then Enrique Razon Jr, Bloomberry’s CEO and Chairman, stated that the company didn’t rush to sell the property. Back then, the agreed price was $100 million.
Recovering market:
Since the market is thriving again and the gamblers are back to traveling after COVID-19 measures were lifted, the casino will reportedly be put on sale again. The market was heavily affected by the pandemic, and its recovery is now steady, but slow. Jeju Casino’s gross gaming revenue increased to P14.7 million in the third quarter of 2023, which is a huge increase, but the company’s Manila property Solaire Resort & Casino Hotel at Manila Bay recorded a revenue of P13.3 billion in the same quarter, or P148 million per day.
Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino is an impressive property located on a 714-square-mile island. The hotel has 208 comfortable rooms, and it is close to the international airport. The foreigner-only casino is the most popular among Japanese and Chinese tourists.
What’s going to happen with Jeju Sun? As Biz Buzz reports, there are no potential buyers yet, but the company still hopes something will change.