- Published on Thursday, 25 October 2012 18:27
- Written by Miguel R. Camus / Reporter
BELLE
Corp., which is building a $1-billion casino and hotel complex in
Entertainment City Manila, has formally taken as its operating partner
the Macau-based Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. after more than three
months of discussions. The deal will help move the Belle Grande Manila
Bay project forward but it also noticeably leaves out Belle’s former
partner Leisure and Resorts World Corp. (LRWC).
The signing of the
so-called cooperation agreement was disclosed to the Philippine Stock
Exchange on Thursday and is seen as a positive step for Belle, which has
been facing delays in the opening of its site in the Entertainment
City, which aims to be the Philippines’s version of the Las Vegas Strip
in Nevada.
From the original
opening at the end of 2012, Belle Vice Chairman Willy Ocier said in a
text message on Thursday that the opening is now scheduled in the “first
half of 2014.”
A foreign partner like
Melco Crown will also lend the project added credibility when drawing
the lucrative overseas high-roller market, viewed as the key to the
survival of the massive gaming complex.
As for LRWC, it will
no longer have any participation in the Belle Grande Manila project as
far as the 50-50 partnership between Belle and Melco Crown is concerned,
Belle Chief Financial Officer Manuel Gana clarified in a phone
interview on Thursday.
“[LRWC] will not be
involved,” Gana said, adding that the previous agreement signed with
LRWC subsidiary AB Leisure Global Inc. on January 14, 2011 has been
canceled. LRWC declined 7.28 percent to close at the session low of
P8.65 per share on heavy trading.
Belle was also down 1.82 percent to P5.39 per share.
A source with
knowledge of discussions noted that LRWC is still seeking for a share in
the project, and is in ongoing negotiations with Belle to come into the
deal as an “investor.”
“Technically [LRWC]
will not be involved in the operations and all things that have been
signed between Belle and Melco. It has taken the backseat for now,” the
source said. “But it is possible for LRWC to come in as an investor in
the project.”
There were no details
given and nothing has been finalized, the source clarified. LRWC earlier
raised P3 billion—of which P1.125 billion came from private placement
deals—to support its one-time role as operator of Belle Grande. It
remains unclear how the new partnership will affect the treatment of
funds already disbursed by LRWC.
Based on the
agreement, Melco Crown, which is listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,
and Belle will invest equally in Belle Grande. Ocier said on Thursday
that total investments will amount to at least $1 billion in line with
their commitment to Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
The cooperation
agreement places Belle as a co-licensee and the owner of the site's land
and buildings, while Melco Crown will be a co-licensee and operator of
all the facilities within the resort complex, the disclosure showed.
Melco Crown, whose
major shareholders are Melco International Development Limited and Crown
Ltd., is a developer and owner of integrated resort facilities focused
on the Macau market including “City of Dreams.”
In Photo: Belle
Corp., together with 100-percent-owned subsidiary Premium Leisure and
Amusement Inc., formally signed an agreement with Melco Crown
Entertainment Ltd. (MCE) which governs the parties’ cooperation in the
development and operation of an integrated resort complex in Belle’s
property along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, fronting the Pagcor
Entertainment City complex in Parañaque City. Photo shows (from left)
James Packer, chairman of Crown Ltd. Australia; Lawrence Ho, chairman of
Melco International Development Ltd.; President Aquino; and Henry Sy
Jr., co-vice chairman of SM Investments Corp.
No comments:
Post a Comment