Melco unit to sell $400-M shares

MANILA, Philippines - The local unit of Macau-based casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. is tapping the equities market to raise $400 million through a share sale.

The fresh funds will bankroll the construction of a $1.3-billion mega casino in partnership with the SM Group.

In a regulatory filing, Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corp. said its board of directors approved the plan to raise additional capital of up to $400 million through an equity offering.

Melco Philippines will sell up to one billion shares, with an overallotment option of up to 20 percent of the offer shares or another 200 million shares.

Under the planned transaction, subsidiary MCE (Philippines) Investments Ltd. will sell as much as 1.2 billion shares of Melco Philippines and then subscribing to the same number of shares.

The $1.3-billion, 920-room Belle Grande Manila Bay casino and resort complex, a joint venture with SM Group’s upscale leisure developer and gaming unit Belle Corp., will start operations in June or July next year.

The government is grooming the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s 120-hectare Entertainment City along Manila Bay as a competitor of the Las Vegas, Singapore and Macau gaming hubs.

Belle and Melco Crown, for their part, will be the second casino operator in Entertainment City, next to the $1.2-billion Solaire Resort and Casino of port magnate Enrique Razon that opened last Saturday.

Belle targets to attract foreigners, particularly high rollers, from China, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Last week, Melco co-chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho said it is banking on its vast gaming network of Asian players.