Nasdaq-listed 26 Capital to pursue $2.5 bln SPAC deal with Manila casino

26 Capital Acquisition

15/06/2022 16:37

By Neil Jerome Morales
    MANILA, June 15 (Reuters) - Nasdaq-listed 26 Capital
Acquisition Corp's  ADER.O  CEO said on Wednesday the blank
check firm was committed to its $2.5 billion purchase of the
Philippines' biggest integrated casino-resort, despite a wrangle
for control at the casino's current owners.
    The 44-hectare (108-acre) Okada Manila, owned by
subsidiaries of Japan's Universal Entertainment Corp  6425.T ,
agreed in October to go public in the United States through a
merger with 26 Capital.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2RB2MF
    But the deal has become mired in a long-running dispute
between Universal and its deposed chairman and founder, Kazuo
Okada. 
    That dispute took a dramatic turn on May 31 when Okada's
Filipino partners took physical control of the $3.3 billion
casino in the Philippine capital with the help of private
security guards and local police.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2XO0O2
    "I believe Universal will be back in control of Okada Manila
soon," Jason Ader, chairman and CEO of 26 Capital, told Reuters.
"Both parties plan to close this transaction."
    The seizure of the casino came after the Philippine Supreme
Court ruled in April that Okada should be reinstated as chairman
of the casino's owner and operator. 
    Universal's domestic unit, Tiger Resorts, has appealed that
ruling and complained of what it said was an "illegal and
violent" takeover. 
    Universal and its subsidiaries, and the camp of Okada and
his Filipino partners did not immediately respond to requests
for comment outside of office hours.
    Listing in the United States will give Okada Manila access
to a wide array of funds, customers and lenders, Ader said,
adding investors see the potential for the Philippines to be one
of the world's best gaming markets.
    The Philippines, which has one of Asia's most freewheeling
gaming industries, has started to recover from the pandemic.   
Its gross gaming revenues rose 14% to 113 billion pesos ($2.12
billion) in 2021, though still below the record 256 billion in
2019, data from the gaming regulator show.
    In contrast, top gaming hub Macau, of which 90% of visitors
typically come from mainland China, continues to reel from
Beijing's "zero-COVID" policy.
    In 2017, Okada was ousted from the board of both Universal
and its Philippine unit on suspicions of misappropriating
millions of company funds, which he has denied.
    ($1 = 53.3140 Philippine pesos)

 (Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((neiljerome.morales@thomsonreuters.com; +632 8841 8914;))