The Philippine arm of Japan’s Universal Entertainment will no longer acquire a majority stake in PH Resorts’ gaming project in the central Philippines, PH Resorts announced Tuesday.
PH Resorts said in a filing with the stock exchange that it has received a letter terminating an agreement under which Universal’s Okada Manila will buy a majority stake in the company’s Emerald Bay gaming project in Cebu province.
The companies could not agree on a valuation, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. One of the sources said PH Resorts wants the buyer to pay the casino’s debts that were due in July, which Okada did not support.
Shares in PH Resorts fell as much as 29 percent to a nine-month intraday low after the announcement. Okada Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
PH Resorts will collaborate with other companies that have already expressed interest in the Emerald Bay project, company President Raymundo Martin Escalona said in a statement.
It was the third cancelled deal for the stalled PH Resorts project, owned by Dennis Uy, a close associate of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Uy’s conglomerate carried out an aggressive, debt-backed expansion during Duterte’s term but was forced to sell holdings after the pandemic.
Okada Manila wanted to expand its presence outside Manila and operates a $3.3 billion gambling resort there.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times © 2024 The New York Times Company
