The Singapore Court of Appeals has denied the petition of firms controlled by billionaire Enrique Razon Jr., who owns Solaire Resort and Casino, related to an agreement they forged with Global Gaming Asset Management Philippines (GGAM).
In its decision on February 16, the Singapore appellate court upheld the decision of the Singapore High Court to dismiss the petition of Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc. (BRHI) and Sureste Properties Inc. (SPI) “to vacate and oppose the enforcement of the partial award of the Arbitration Tribunal dated September 20, 2016.”
In its 2016 decision, the court sided with GGAM and said it did not mislead billionaire Enrique Razon Jr. into signing a management agreement to operate Solaire Resorts and Casino.
The court, in its partial award, also said there is no basis for Razon, who owns Bloomberry Resorts Corp., to challenge the ownership of GGAM on some 921.18 million shares in the company. GGAM acquired the said shares after it exercised its equity option rights to raise its stake in the Bloomberry to 8.7 percent.
The arbitration tribunal has since then issued its final award September 2019 in favor of GGAM and ordered monetary awards in favor of GGAM and a constructive remedy pertaining to the 921.18 million Bloomberry shares declared as owned by GGAM.
The Razon camp, meanwhile, said that only a Philippine court can order the enforcement of such award.
“Counsel for SPI and BRHI has advised that the arbitration award is not self-executing and must be enforced through the court of the jurisdiction where it is to be enforced. Philippine counsel for SPI and BRHI has advised that, as a matter of Philippine law, the partial award may be enforced in the Philippines only through an order of a Philippine court of proper jurisdiction, after appropriate proceeding taking into account applicable Philippine law and public policy.”
In September 2009, Bloomberry entered a management services agreement with GGAM for all the aspects of the operations of Solaire, which included the pre-opening preparations.
As part of the agreement, GGAM was granted the option to purchase up to 921.18 million shares at a purchase price equivalent to P1 per share plus $15 million.
Fees per contract amounts to $100,000 per month for the technical assistance and $75,000 monthly for services related to the pre-opening operations. Its contract was for 5 years, with the option to extend by another 5 years.
Razon, however, fired GGAM in 2013 shortly after the opening of Solaire, accusing GGAM’s Philippine unit of “just sitting on their laurels,” and allowing the billionaire’s management to do most of the legwork including bringing in VIP gamblers from Macau and China.
The tribunal, however, rejected the claim of GGAM that it was defamed by the heated statements of Razon against the firm.
