Bloomberry taps P73.5-B borrowings

MANILA, Philippines — Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the owner and operator of the Solaire Resort & Casino in Parañaque and Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in Korea, is borrowing a whopping P73.5 billion from a syndicate of banks.

 The company will use proceeds of the syndicated loan for its refinancing and working capital requirements.

Bloomberry said Bloomberry Resorts & Hotels Inc. (BRHI) would act as the borrower and mortgagor while Sureste Properties Inc. (SPI) would be the mortgagor, pledgor and surety.

The two subsidiaries signed the loan with BDO Unibank, BDO Private Bank, China Banking Corp., Philippine National Bank, PNB Savings Bank, Robinsons Bank Corp. and United Coconut Planters Bank.

BDO Capital & Investment Corp. is the lead arranger and sole book runner while China Bank Capital Corp. is the co-arranger.

Bloomberry’s investments include the acquisition of a 16-hectare property in Entertainment City, site of Solaire Resort & Casino and its expansion area.

The company plans to acquire the lot, which is priced at a minimum of P37.23 billion.

State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has been trying to auction off the twin parcels of land under Solaire, but investors snubbed the two auctions.

 The failed bidding forced the state regulator to dispose of the lots through a negotiated sale.

Bloomberry, through SPI, submitted a proposal to Pagcor for the acquisition of the lots after the two failed biddings in November and in January. SPI holds a long-term lease on the property until July 11, 2033.

The company posted a full-year net profit of P6.06 billion last year, up by 161 percent mainly due to an 81 percent increase in Solaire’s profitability to P6.27 billion and an 82 percent reduction in net losses from its Korea operations to P207 million from P1.137 billion the previous year.

Enrique Razon Jr., Bloomberry chairman and CEO, said the 2017 results were in line with the targeted growth trajectories.

“This is largely due to our top notch management team and the thousands of Bloomberry and Solaire men and women, whose tireless drive and dedication keep us notches ahead,” Razon said.

Solaire’s Sky Tower recently bagged a five-star rating from the Forbes Travel Guide Star Awards last year, garnering its second consecutive annual five-star rating from Forbes Travel Guide last February.

Solaire was also included by TripAdvisor in its 2018 Travelers’ Choice awards as among the top 25 luxury hotels in the Philippines and the highest ranked in Entertainment City.