Okada operator abandons plan to buy Dennis Uy’s Cebu casino

In a surprising turn of events, Tiger Resort Leisure Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI), the operator of Okada Manila, has pulled out its planned investments that would supposedly help complete the Emerald Bay Resort owned by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy.

The Philippine Resorts Group Holdings informed the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday that its subsidiary, PH Travel and Leisure Holdings Corp., received a letter from TRLEI detailing the termination of the Emerald Bay project buyout in Mactan, Cebu.

The letter revoked a December 2023 term sheet, which permitted Tiger Resort to acquire significant majority ownership of PH Travel subsidiaries Lapulapu Leisure Inc. and Lapulapu Land Corp, which oversee the Emerald Bay project. 

The company, however, did not disclose the reason for TRLEI's withdrawal from the project.

Following this recent abandonment of plans for casino property, two previous deals with Bloomberry Resorts Corp. and AppleOne Properties Inc., a Cebu-based developer, also failed to materialize, making TRLEI the third company to pull out from the project.

Despite the termination, Philippine Resorts president Raymundo Martin Escalona assured that the company would look for other parties to save the Emerald Bay Project.

"We assure our shareholders and stakeholders, however, that the company’s management is already working towards another transaction, be it an acquisition, joint venture, or otherwise, that will ensure the completion of the Emerald Bay Project," he said.

Philippine Resorts Group is the leisure and gaming arm of Uy's Udenna Corp.