In the Philippines, billionaire businessman Enrique Razon has reportedly earned approximately $74.58 million after selling off 3.18% of his stake in local casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corporation.
According to a report from The Philippine Star newspaper, 57-year-old Razon completed his sale of some 350 million shares via an overnight placement yesterday although his Prime Metroline Holdings Incorporated investment vehicle remains as the largest shareholder in the firm behind Manila’s Solaire Resort and Casino with a stake of about 65.58%.
The newspaper reported that Prime Metroline Holdings Incorporated had tapped the Singapore branch of investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated as the sole placement agent for the transaction. It moreover detailed that the move is expected to widen public ownership in Manila-listed Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, which additionally holds a majority stake in the firm behind South Korea’s Jeju Sun Hotel and Casino, and increase the value of its shares.
“I am very confident of the prospects for Bloomberry [Resorts Corporation],” Razon reportedly told The Philippine Star. “I believe that the increased liquidity in the stock will be beneficial for investors and the company.”
The newspaper reported that Bloomberry Resorts Corporation recently saw its first-half profit rise by 24% year-on-year to $80.4 million thanks to the Solaire Resort and Casino recording all-time high VIP, mass-market and electronic gaming machine gross gaming revenues.
For the second quarter alone, the firm’s net income reportedly increased by 47% year-on-year to $38.26 million courtesy of a 34% swell in profitability from operations in the Philippines and lower losses in South Korea. The three-month period also purportedly saw Bloomberry Resorts Corporation’s consolidated gross gaming revenues improve by 14% quarter-on-quarter to $239.78 million, which represented its highest since the Solaire Resort and Casino opened in March of 2013.