Tiger Resort Asia Limited (TRA), a Philippines-based casino arm of Japanese Pachislot and Pachinko machines manufacturer Universal Entertainment Corporation, has agreed to acquire a majority share in investment holding firm Asiabest Group International in order to complete a backdoor entry to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
TRA will acquire 200 million shares in Asiabest representing 66.6 percent of the company’s issued share capital for 646.5 million piso ($12 million).
The purpose of acquiring Asiabest’s shares is to locally list the shares of TRA in the Philippines. TRA operates Manila’s integrated resort, Okada Manila, located in the Entertainment City precinct in Paranaque.
The move is seen as a key step in raising fresh capital for Okada Manila, which held its soft opening in October 2016.