Solar acquires 2 casino resorts
Magnum Leisure Holdings Inc., a unit of businessman Wilson Tieng?s Solar Entertainment Corp., is buying the Philippine hotel and casino operations of Panama-based Thunderbird Resorts Inc. for $26.5 million.
Thunderbird Resorts Inc. said in a statement posted on the Web site it sold the entire economic interest and management rights in its Philippines and related British Virgin Islands operations to Magnum Leisure and related affiliates of Solar Entertainment.
Thunderbird Resorts, an international provider of branded casino and hospitality services, is focused on markets in Latin America. It owns two casinos in the Philippines?one located in San Fernando, La Union and another in Binangonan, Rizal.
Thunderbird Resorts in 2011 announced that the group and Solar Entertainment would enter into a joint venture to co-own the Philippine operations.
The group, however, said it decided to sell rather than to jointly own the Philippine operations in order to build shareholders? value.
The sale of Philippine operations would reduce Thunderbird Resorts? consolidated debt by at least $9.2 million.
?With the sale of the Philippines, the group now has fresh capital to further reduce debt and to invest in building cash flows in Peru, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We will continue to focus on gaming as our core business,? Thunderbird Resorts said.