Bloomberry Resorts Corporation is refuting a claim that it has agreed to extend the closing date for the sale of its Jeju Sun Hotel And Casino in South Korea to Macau-based VIP junket operator Iao Kun Group Holding Company Limited.
According to a report from GGRAsia, late-June saw Manila-based Bloomberry Resorts Corporation finalize a deal to offload the casino on Jeju Island to Iao Kun Group Holding Company Limited in return for around $101 million in cash while the Philippines operator had expected to close the agreement within 45 days.
However, Jim Preissler, Independent Director and Audit Committee Chairman for Iao Kun Group Holding Company Limited, recently explained during a conference call regarding the NASDAQ-listed firm’s second-quarter financial performance that the company was still “working to finalize” finance agreements for the purchase.
“In the interim, we and the seller have agreed to extend the required closing dates to the acquisition,” said Preissler.
Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, which also operates the Solaire Resort And Casino in the new Entertainment City district of Manila, immediately rebutted this assertion in a filing lodged with the Philippine Stock Exchange.
“Bloomberry Resorts Corporation would like to clarify that it has not agreed to the extension of the closing date for the said transaction with Iao Kun [Group Holding Company Limited],” read the filing.
The last month has seen Iao Kun Group Holding Company Limited close its high-roller services with the Sands Cotai Central, the Galaxy Macau Casino and the StarWorld Casino And Hotel Resort in Macau while it recently reported a 51% decrease year-on-year in second-quarter rolling chip turnover to $900 million. The company still offers VIP gambling services to players in its home market via the City Of Dreams Macau and the Casino Le Royal Arc and recorded a net loss of $104.4 million for the three months to the end of June, which represented a rise of some 338% on the $23.8 million deficit it reported for the same period in 2015, while projecting annual rolling chip turnover of $2.5 billion to $3 billion.
In an attempt to diversify its business away from Macau, Iao Kun Group Holding Company Limited signed an accord in May of 2015 that saw it begin trial operations at a pair of Australian casinos operated by Crown Resorts Limited, namely the Crown Melbourne Entertainment Complex and Crown Perth.