Philippines real estate firm Belle Corp said Monday it has no plans to buy out joint venture partner Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s stake in City of Dreams Manila.
Melco, which rents from Belle Corp the land upon which City of Dreams Manila sits and pays a share of gaming revenues to Belle subsidiary Premium Leisure Corp, announced last week that it was exploring “potential strategic alternatives” for the Manila integrated resort, which the two companies opened together in 2014.
That news sparked speculation that Belle Corp – which itself recently confirmed interest in acquiring a casino license in nearby Clark – may buy out Melco’s stake. However, the company said in a Philippine Stock Exchange filing that it has no such intention.
“Please be advised that while Belle is not in a position to confirm the accuracy of the statements about a possible exit of Melco from the Philippines, it can confirm that any buy-out of Melco’s interests in COD Manila is not part of Belle’s plans for the immediate future,” it stated.
Melco Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho provided more detail on the possible sale of the company’s Manila IR during an earnings call late last week, revealing it is “part of our strategy to be asset-light where we can and capitalize on our investments and reallocate our resources. This will allow us to enhance financial flexibility, strengthen the balance sheet and support our long-term growth initiatives.”
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