Property in close proximity to airport
Frontier Capital Group has announced that it will acquire Stotsenberg Leisure and Hotel Corp., which owns the Casablanca Casino in the Philippines’ Clark Freeport Zone. The firm will pay the equivalent of US$26 million in the form of 154.05 million Frontier Capital shares, according to GGRAsia.
The resort includes 239 hotel rooms, 190 slot machines, 36 gaming tables and two VIP rooms, Frontier Capital stated in a filing to the Australian Stock Exchange. The property is located about a mile from Clark International Airport.
“The Philippines gaming industry is the fastest growing in Asia,” Frontier Capital COO Ken Wong said in the filing. “Research conducted by Citi and Macquarie Research has found that the Philippines gaming industry is the fastest growing in the Asia with Philippines casinos payback period as good as Macau. Our entry into the gaming industry is well timed to capitalize on this potential.”
Wong is a former executive of Genting Hong Kong Ltd., and joined Frontier Capital in October. The firm’s chairman is Johnny Chan, winner of 10 World Series of Poker bracelets and a member of the WSOP Hall of Fame.
The filing said E!xcite Gaming and Entertainment Inc. will manage and operate the Clark property’s hotel and gaming business. “E!xcite has provided a five-year profit guarantee of US$5 million per annum,” the document said. E!xcite executives hail from the gaming industries of Macau and the Philippines, according to Frontier Capital. Wong is the CFO and senior vice president of finance of E!xcite.
Frontier Capital, formerly known as Precious Metal Resources Ltd., has also invested in lotteries in Mongolia, GGRAsia reported. The deal must be approved by Frontier shareholders; if they approve, the deal is expected to become final in January.
