Solaire Resort & Casino Land Put Up For Auction By PAGCOR

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) which is the gaming regulator in the country recently announced that they will be auctioning off the two plots of land where the Solaire Resort and Casino stand.

This is the second attempt to sell these two parcels of the land. Back in November 2017, PAGCOR announced an auction for the same two plots and set a November 27 deadline for bids. There was no explanation for the initial auction from Pagcor and still no explanation has been provided.

According to sources, the November auction was unsuccessful with zero bids submitted. The auction’s rules require that at least two bids need to be submitted for the auction to push through.

The same rule will also apply to this auction. The auction is scheduled for January 27. Bidding will open at 2 PM. There will be a minimum bid price of PHP37.23 billion, which is the equivalent of $739 million. The land parcels on offer have a combined area of 60,359 square meters and have been fully developed.

As for bidders, only Philippine nationals or those who are legally allowed to acquire Philippine real estate may bid. For bids from partnerships or corporations, there must be at least 60% ownership by Philippine nationals. Bloomberry Resort Corp which is the parent company of the Solaire Resort and Casino is entitled to match the highest bid. In addition, the lease agreement of the land which allows Solaire to occupy the land will be transferred to the winning bidder. The lease agreement will last up to July 2033 and can be extended under certain conditions.

Bloomberry generated around PHP1.86 billion for the third quarter of 2017. The company’s profits went up by 31.3% and a significant amount of the revenue was generated by the Solaire Casino.

The property being auctioned off is in a prime location located within the popular Entertainment City. The Philippines has earmarked Entertainment City towards casino development and the objective is to develop something similar to Macau’s Cotai District. Besides the Solaire Casino, there are also two additional casino resorts nearby. The City of Dreams Manila which is owned by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd and Universal Entertainment Corp’s Okada Manila are the other two casinos.

Entertainment City will also welcome another casino shortly. Travellers International Hotel Group Inc will be throwing their hat into the ring with the Westside City Resorts World which is expected to open in 2019.