Bloomberry secures P40-billion financing for 2nd casino

MANILA, Philippines — Enrique Razon’s Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the owner and operator of Solaire Resort & Casino and Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in Korea, has secured financing for its second casino located in Quezon City.

In a disclosure, Bloomberry said its subsidiaries, Sureste Properties Inc. (SPI) and Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc. (BRHI), signed an omnibus loan and security agreement of P40 billion with several lenders.

The banks  are Philippine National Bank, BDO Unibank, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Union Bank of the Philippines, Bank of Commerce, China Banking Corp., and Robinsons Bank Corp.

BDO Unibank Inc. – Trust and Investments Group is the security trustee, facility agent and paying agent for the loan facility, while BDO Capital & Investment Corp. acted as the lead arranger and sole bookrunner.

“The proceeds of the loan would be used by SPI and BRHI to partially finance the design, construction and development of an integrated hotel and gaming resort located at the Vertis North Complex in Quezon City, Metro Manila,” Bloomberry said.

The company aims to open its Quezon City casino by early 2022, with the construction targeted to commence by the middle of this year.

The Quezon City casino resort will carry the same Solaire brand, but will be higher because the lot area in Vertis North is smaller compared to the Parañaque hotel.

Razon expects the casino business to grow stronger, seeing 2019 as a banner year because of the steady influx of tourists and junket players to the country as well as the rise in middle-class income.

The business activities at the 100-hectare Entertainment City in Parañaque are also steadily growing, he said.

In the nine months to September last year, Bloomberry grew  its net income by eight percent to P6.4 billion, while Solaire’s gross gaming revenues grew 10 percent to P37.741 billion.