Tiger Resorts, Leisure and Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI), operator of Okada Manila, will acquire PH Travel and Leisure Holdings, the company behind the unfinished Emerald Bay Resort in Cebu.
TRLEI said it has entered into a preliminary agreement with PH Travel, a subsidiary of PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc., to acquire a majority stake in the Emerald Bay project and complete the partially developed Emerald Bay Resort.
The parties involved expect to conclude the transaction by July 2024, with TRLEI planning to open Emerald Bay Resort by 2026.
The Emerald Bay Resort project is currently planned to be an iconic and luxurious five-star integrated resort in Cebu and the premier entertainment destination in the Philippines outside of Entertainment City in Metro Manila.
The resort is a project by Davao businessman Dennis Uy. PHR earlier failed to close a deal with Bloomberry Resorts Corp. and Cebu-based property firm AppleOne Properties Inc.
The integrated resort will contain a five-star hotel adjacent to 300 meters of beachfront, with two 15-story towers accommodating 642 rooms, four pools, 18 food and beverage outlets, retail spaces, conference and exhibition facilities, and a large-scale gaming floor with more than 700 electric gaming machines and over 140 tables.
In 2017, PHR obtained a provisional gaming license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation for the Emerald Bay Resort, which is located on Mactan Island, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
The development of the Emerald Bay Resort was suspended during the COVID pandemic.
Okada Manila recently managed to separate itself from former founder Kazuo Okada, with the Supreme Court lifting the Status Quo Ante Order (SQAO) brought about by a lawsuit from the former head of the property.
