Okada Manila to Go Public on Nasdaq After $2.6 Billion Deal
The largest casino resort in the country is going public—on the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York City. Okada Manila is owned by Universal Entertainment, a Japanese company known for selling pachislot and pachinko machines. Okada is the company’s main venture into the business of the integrated resorts, and will soon go public after it merges with 26 Capital Acquisitions Corp., a Miami-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
The deal will entail that Universal Entertainment merges Okada Manila with 26 Capital Acquisition Corp. In exchange, Universal will receive an 88 percent stake in the new merger and $275 million in cash from 26 Capital. Universal currently owns 100 percent equity of the property, which will decrease to 88 percent once the deal is closed in the first half of 2022.
The deal will bump up Okada’s enterprise value to $2.6 billion and equity value to $2.5 billion.
“Okada Manila is the future of the gaming market in Asia and poised for tremendous growth," said Jason Ader, chairman and CEO of 26 Capital and former casino analyst.
Prior to the pandemic, the casino gaming market in the Philippines grew by 24 percent annually from 2013 to 2019. In a press release, 26 Capital said that it’s banking on “tapping into significant pent-up demand” after the pandemic to accelerate growth.
Okada Manila sits on a 35,000 square meter property that hosts a casino and hotel. The resort is already open, but once the final phase of construction is complete, it’s expected to house 974 gaming tables, 6,890 gaming machines, 993 hotel rooms, over 50 shops, and over 25 restaurants.
Okada is one of the three existing integrated resorts situated in Entertainment City. The two others are Solaire, which is owned by tycoon Enrique Razon, and City of Dreams, which was developed by Melco Resorts and Entertainment.
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