Enrique Razon’s firm now leases the land
The auction of 16 hectares (39.5 acres) of land at Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila has been nullified because only one bidder came to play. The Philippine government required at least two bidders for an auction to proceed. Now billionaire casino magnate Enrique Razon’s Bloomberry Resorts Corp., which submitted the sole bid, may buy the land in a negotiated sale.
In November 2017, PAGCOR announced it was putting the land up for auction, with all bids due by November 27. No bids were submitted at that time, so the regulator launched a new auction in mid-January.
In a subsequent filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Bloomberry disclosed that it wants to buy the land through a wholly-owned subsidiary, Sureste Properties Inc. Bloomberry currently leases the property from state-run casino regulator the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
According to the Asia Gaming Brief, the land covers a combined 160,359 square meters (39.6 acres). PAGCOR agreed that SPI could match any bid to purchase the parcels, provided that the land be used “exclusively for the purpose for which it was intended, for the purpose of developing and maintaining thereon a world-class integrated resort in accordance with the plans approved by the lessee and PAGCOR.”
The opening price for the twin plots is PHP37.23 billion (US$726.6 million), to be paid in cash, reported CalvinAyre.com. Solaire’s land lease expires in July 2033, but may be extended for another term under certain conditions.
