Philippine gaming giant Bloomberry Resorts Corp has completed the sale of Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in Jeju Island, South Korea, officially exiting the Korean gaming market. On Wednesday, Bloomberry's indirect subsidiary Golden & Luxury Co Ltd divested its casino operations to a new company, Heaven Co Ltd, and sold it to Gangwon Blue Mountain Co Ltd (now renamed Blue One Ltd). The total transaction price is 7 billion Korean Won (approximately 4.87 million USD), with the remaining 3 billion Won to be paid by February 2027. Simply put, it was a wrong purchase at the time, and now they are cutting their losses to focus on their core business back home.
A decade of investment finally concludes: The rough journey from acquisition to exit
Bloomberry first acquired Jeju Sun Casino (formerly known as THE Hotel Vegas) in 2015, but began seeking an exit less than a year later. In 2016, it planned to sell it for 117.5 billion Korean Won in cash to Macau gaming intermediary Iao Kun Group, but the deal fell through due to the latter's financing failure. Bloomberry's Chairman and CEO Enrique Razon later admitted that investing in Jeju was unwise due to South Korea's strict stance on domestic gambling. He pointed out that only one casino in Gangwon Province is open to locals, and if locals can't play, "it can never be a true resort but only caters to a niche market, making it hard to grow." Through this transaction, Bloomberry's indirect subsidiary has exited the Jeju Island gaming business but still retains ownership of the real estate, including the casino space, and continues to operate the hotel and dining businesses, with the casino space leased to Heaven Co until it relocates to a new venue.
Strategic contraction: Focusing on the Philippine domestic market
After exiting Korea, Bloomberry is now focusing on developing its gaming business in the Philippines. It currently operates Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila's Entertainment City and the Solaire North set to open in May 2024 in Quezon City, Metro Manila. The proceeds from the sale will also support a planned Solaire-branded casino in Camarines Sur province, south of Metro Manila. Its iGaming brand Solaire Online was launched in early 2025. Interested in the latest strategic moves of Asian gaming giants? PASA's official website keeps you updated.
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