December 10, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc. of Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy is looking to team up with construction giant EEI Corp. for the development of the unfinished Emerald Bay Resort in Cebu.
In a stock exchange filing, PH Resorts said its parent company, Udenna Corp., has executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with EEI concerning the Emerald Bay Resort and Casino project.
PH Resorts said the MOU provides an avenue for a potential partnership between the company and EEI upon the execution of the definitive agreements as well as subject to the fulfillment of conditions precedent and regulatory approvals, if any.
The agreement also paves the way for EEI to execute an agreement with PH Resorts and its subsidiaries, Lapulapu Leisure Inc. (LLI) and Lapulapu Land Corp. (LLC), to finance, construct and compete the Emerald Bay Project, upon the execution of definitive documentation.
PH Resorts said necessary disclosures would be made by the company once the deal terms are finalized and the definitive agreements are executed.
As one of the country’s leading construction companies, EEI has multiple mega infrastructure projects in the pipeline including big-ticket railway projects.
The 93-year-old company has a broad range of construction and engineering services, with expertise in the construction of infrastructure, buildings and industrial and electromechanical facilities.
PH Resorts previously confirmed it is in talks with various investors to aid in the development of the unfinished Emerald Bay Resort.
The company said that it had the opportunity to engage with other parties who have expressed interest in the Emerald Bay project following the termination of a term sheet with the Okada Group’s Tiger Resort Leisure & Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI) last July.
PH Travel and Leisure Holdings in December last year executed a term sheet with TRLEI to acquire a significant majority ownership of LLI and LLC as operators of the Emerald Bay project, subject to various conditions, allowing TRLEI to take over the development of the Emerald Bay Resort.
However, the Okada Manila operator decided not to pursue the Emerald Bay acquisition.
PH Travel, the immediate parent company of LLI and LLC, is a subsidiary of PH Resorts Group, the listed travel and leisure company of Uy.
Prior to the agreement with the Okada Group, PH Resorts was in talks for the Emerald Bay sale with Enrique Razon’s Bloomberry and later on with Apple One, both of which also did not materialize.
“It looks like PH Resorts finally found a white knight to save its Emerald Bay project. From the limited details disclosed, it appears that EEI might ultimately end up taking control and substantial ownership of the project, with PH Resorts probably left with a minor economic stake,” China Bank Capital Corp. managing director Juan Paolo Colet said.
“Naturally, one of the questions in the minds of public shareholders is whether this MOU will see the light of day, as attempts to do a deal with previous suitors all fell through. Hopefully this one will be realized to unlock the value of the Cebu property,” he said.
EEI’s principal stockholders are RYM Business Managment Corp. of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, House of Investments of the Yuchengco Group, Industry Holdings and Development Corp. of the Chua Group and Shenton Resources.
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