Philippines integrated resort developer Bloomberry Resorts Corp has agreed to sell its underperforming South Korea casino resort, Jeju Sun, to Gangwon Blue Mountain Co.

Philippines hospitality giant Bloomberry Resorts Corp has finally found a buyer for Jeju Sun on Jeju Island, its loss-making South Korea casino resort.

In a Monday filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Bloomberry revealed that its indirect South Korean subsidiary, Golden & Luxury Co Ltd, signed a share purchase agreement with Gangwon Blue Mountain Co Ltd. Under the deal, Golden & Luxury “will spin-off its casino business to a separate new company, then sell said new company”.

The buyer has made a KRW500 million (US$350,000) down payment. But the sale will not close until certain conditions are met, including the completion of the demerger and regulatory approvals.

Jeju Sun a longtime underachiever

After Bloomberry acquired Jeju Sun (then THE Hotel Vegas) in 2015, it almost immediately looked for an opportunity to sell. In 2016, Iao Kun Group Holding Company announced that it would buy Jeju Sun for KRW117.5 billion in cash. But the deal fell through when the VIP junket promoter could not lock down sufficient financing.

In 2020, Bloomberry Chairman and CEO Enrique Razon Jr acknowleged that the purchase was ill-advised because of South Korea’s hardline stance on locals gaming. Only one casino in the country, Kangwon Land in remote Gangwon Province, is open to South Koreans.

“If locals cannot play, then you can never make a real property, a real resort,” said Razon, one of the Philippines’ richest people. “It will always be small, sort of like a niche player. And you’ll probably have difficulty growing from there.”

That restriction also factored into Mohegan Gaming’s loss of its first Asian venture, Inspire South Korea in Incheon. In February, principal lender Bain Capital seized control of Inspire when the US tribal operator failed to make good on $275 million in loans.

For the second quarter, Jeju Sun GGR dropped a staggering 93% to PHP2.5 million, down from PHP35.7 million in 2024. That loss was a drag on Bloomberry, which posted a PHP1.4 billion net loss for the same period.

Renewed focus on Philippines for Bloomberry Resorts

China Bank Capital Corp Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said the sale is a positive for Bloomberry, which will “be shedding a losing business”. In a Viber message cited by Philippines Business World, Colet added, “The divestment is intended to cut losses and rechannel corporate resources to the Philippine operations.”

Those operations include Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila’s Entertainment City, and Solaire North in Quezon City, which opened in May 2024. The company also launched Solaire Online, its iGaming platform, earlier this year.