No local partner? No problem
Lawrence Ho’s Melco International is going it alone in Barcelona’s gaming market. The Asian company is bidding as a single entity for a casino license in the Catalonian capital.
According to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Melco terminated its partnership with the Spanish company Veremonte España.
In 2014, the company participated in two bids for a license to develop a hotel and casino complex in BCN World, a recreation and tourism center development near Barcelona. One of the bids was made through its subsidiary, Melco Property Development. The other was submitted via another subsidiary involved in lottery technologies in Mainland China, MelcoLot, reported the Macau Business Daily. The latter bid was a joint venture with Veremont, a Spanish company headed by businessman Enrique Banueos. Banueos was one of the main promoters of the BCN project, working in partnership with the Catalan government.
Melco did not disclose a reason for the break, but regional media had reported that funding problems may have been part of the problem. Casino News Daily reported that the companies “could not find a basis for further collaboration.” Veremonte agreed to buy a 500-hectare (1,523-acre) site for the resort but missed two deadlines.
Catalan officials say the withdrawal of the local partner should present no barriers for Melco. Authorities are expected to announce the winning bids no earlier than the second quarter of 2016.
According to the company filing, the MelcoLot Group will do better going it alone, “with (its) level of participation being 99 percent, if the transaction is approved, compared to 50 percent per the previous cooperation with Veremonte.” Along with Barcelona, MelcoLot is looking at a possible development in the Republic of Georgia in Eurasia.
