Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the gaming company controlled by businessman Enrique Razon Jr., is buying a 12.2-hectare property in South Korea, setting the stage for its first venture outside the Philippines.
Bloomberry said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it signed four real estate sales agreements with several landowners for the purchase of land with an aggregate area of 12.2 hectares on Muui Island. It did not disclose the amount of the transactions.
Muui Island, a small island located south of Yongyu Island, is visible from Incheon International Airport.
The property is within the coverage of the Incheon Free Economic Zone and is intended to be developed into a leisure and tourism complex, with entertainment facilities and mixed-use developments.
The property will be acquired under Solaire Korea Co Ltd., a Korean subsidiary of Bloomberry. “More details will be disclosed as soon as conditions of the agreements are complied with,” Bloomberry said.
The share price of Bloomberry jumped to a high of P13.46 per share, following the disclosure, before closing at P13 Tuesday, up 0.93 percent from Monday’s close of P12.88.
Bloomberry’s flagship project is the $1-billion Solaire Resorts & Casino, the first integrated resort and casino development to open at Entertainment City project of state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. in Paranaque City.
Razon, the chairman and chief executive of Bloomberry, earlier said the company was looking at Japan and South Korea for possible expansion of its casino and hotel business. Razon said he planned to develop the brand “Solaire” for overseas ventures.
Bloomberry raised as much as P5.65 billion in November from a share sale to finance overseas expansion as well as for debt repayment.
Solaire recently opened Sky Tower, the expansion phase of the Solaire complex that added new hotel rooms, entertainment facilities and gaming space.
The company also plans to add 1,500 hotel rooms, 100,000 square meters of additional MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) facilities and retail space, 35 new food and beverage outlets and gaming tables and electronic machines.
Bloomberry’s net income surged in the first nine months to P3.29 billion, a sharp turnaround from the P868-million net loss recorded in the same period last year.
Nine-month gross revenues soared 127 percent to P22.43 billion from P9.887 billion generated in the same period last year.
The company attributed its strong financial performance to higher gaming and non-gaming revenues as well as significant cost containment measures it implemented.