Global Gaming Asset Management, the company tapped by Enrique Razon Jr. to oversee operations of Solaire Manila resort casino, has exercised an equity option to up its stake in Bloomberry Resorts Corporation to 8.7%.
That much was made clear by GGAM president Bradley Stone last week when, according to the Business Mirror, he told reporters that the decision to exercise the equity option was spurred by the Bloomberry’s strong performance in stock trading since a “follow-on” share sale back in May.
Earlier this year, an agreement was struck between the two companies through Bloomberry’s controlling stockholder Prime Metroline Holdings and GGAM’s local unit, Global Gaming Philippines LLC. The agreement would allow the latter to acquire 921.8 million shares of Bloomberry valued at Php1 plus $15 million.
With the strength of Bloomberry’s stock becoming more evident, it didn’t take GGAM until its agreed upon deadline of March 2013 – the date where the casino is expected to open – to exercise its option.
“The bottom line is that it’s a very wonderful investment—let there be no question that it will be exercised,” Stone said, as quoted by the Business Mirror.
Bloomberry’s stock is currently valued at Php 13.20 per share as of last Friday, which means that with the equity option, GGAM could acquire shares at an 87% discount, allowing it to score a premium deal that makes it one of the biggest shareholders of the soon-to-rise hotel and casino at Pagcor’s Entertainment City not named Enrique Razon Jr.
Solaire Manila is expected to be the first of the four licensed casino resorts to open in Entertainment City. With so much unprecedented hype and hoopla surrounding the entire project, there really wasn’t a question in anybody’s mind that GGAM would exercise its equity option.
It wasn’t so much an ‘if’ as it was a ‘when’. And that when has finally happened.
