--Melco Crown is set to enter the Philippine casino market with
a deal to partner with Belle Corp., according to people familiar
with the matter
--The deal could see Melco Crown operate the $1 billion resort's
casino
(Adds comment from Belle executive in paragraph 3, information
on deal in paragraphs 5-6)
By Kate O'Keeffe and Cris Larano
HONG KONG--Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd.
(MPEL) is set to enter the burgeoning Philippine market with a deal
to partner with local property developer Belle Corp. (BEL.PH),
according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal, which the people say may be signed as early as
Wednesday, will ratchet up the competitiveness of the gambling
industry in Manila, where the government is hoping to create the
Philippines' version of the Las Vegas Strip.
Belle Vice Chairman Willie Ocier said the company is in talks to
have Melco Crown operate the casino portion of the resort project
but declined to provide further specifics. Cora Guidote,
spokeswoman for Belle's parent company, SM Investments Corp.
(SM.PH), said Melco Crown and Belle are just talking and nothing
has been finalized. Melco Crown spokeswoman Maggie Ma declined to
comment.
Belle, controlled by the country's richest man, Henry Sy, is one
of four companies that have licenses to run casinos in the new
Manila Bay gambling hub. The company is building a $1 billion
casino project there.
Belle finished most of the construction of the resort in
January, but the process of fitting out the project has been put on
hold for the past six months as deal negotiations dragged on, said
one of the people.
Though Belle owns the casino license, it lacks gambling
experience, so it signed an agreement to outsource the casino
management to Philippine bingo operator Leisure & Resorts World
Corp. (LR.PH). The two companies were to evenly split the resort's
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization,
the person said. The new deal may see Melco Crown take over Leisure
& Resorts's 50% share of the resort's revenue, the person said.
Leisure & Resorts will still likely remain involved in the
project in some capacity, however, the person added.
Bloomberry Resorts Corp., controlled by local ports magnate
Enrique Razon Jr., is set to open a $1.2 billion casino-resort in
the same area early next year. The company has contracted Global
Gaming Asset Management, run by former senior Las Vegas Sands Corp.
executives, to manage the casino operation.
Other casino license holders include a joint venture between
Malaysian casino company Genting Hong Kong Ltd. and Philippine
conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc., and Universal
Entertainment Corp., a pachinko company run by Japan's Kazuo
Okada.
Melco Crown, backed by Lawrence Ho and James Packer--the sons of
Macau gambling kingpin Stanley Ho and the late Australian
casino-and-media magnate Kerry Packer--is one of six casino license
holders in Macau, the world's largest gambling market. The company
runs two casino-resort properties in the Chinese territory and has
a 60% equity interest in a third project still under
development.
Write to Kate O'Keeffe at kathryn.okeeffe@dowjones.com and Cris
Larano at cris.larano@dowjones.com