Bloomberry Resorts, the operator behind Manila’s Solaire Resort & Casino, has purchased an island and casino operation in South Korea.
On Tuesday, Bloomberry said its Solaire Korea Co Ltd subsidiary had inked a deal to acquire up to a 92% stake in Golden & Luxury Co Ltd, which operates T.H.E. Hotel & Vegas Casino on South Korea’s Jeju island. The island is home to a number of small-scale casinos that are popular with Chinese tourists. Jeju is also the site of Genting Singapore’s in-development Resorts World Jeju integrated resort.
Bloomberry also inked a deal to buy the 21-hectare Silmi island, which is included in the Incheon Free Economic Zone (FEZ). Both deals still need to obtain official government approval. Bloomberry declined to comment on the acquisitions’ costs, saying only that the deals were “subject to performance of several conditions” and specifics would be revealed “once appropriate approvals have been obtained.”
Bloomberry chairman Enrique Razon issued a statement saying his company was “slightly shifting our focus to other destinations.” Razon said this shift would take a few years, but “it is good business to start prospecting, and Korea is a likely choice because of its positive investment climate.”
In November, Bloomberry hinted at an upcoming South Korea acquisition and in January purchased a 12-hectare parcel of land on Muui Island, which is adjacent to Silmi in the Incheon FEZ. At the time, Bloomberry said its plan was to develop a “leisure and tourism complex” within the FEZ. South Korea has said it expects to issue two more integrated resort licenses sometime this year.
Two integrated resort projects have already been approved in the Incheon FEZ: the Paradise City joint venture of Paradise Co Ltd and Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings, plus a consortium including Caesars Entertainment and Hong Kong’s Lippo Ltd. A third project has been proposed by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises but has yet to receive a license. Incheon airport officials have also proposed their own project modeled on Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa.
