South Korea’s largest operator of foreigners-only casinos has raised 285.8 billion won (US$281.2 million) in a sale of treasury sales.
Paradise Co., which operates five casinos in Seoul, Incheon and the resort island of Jeju, offered 7.5 million shares at 38,100 won each, a 4% discount to closing prices late last week, according to Reuters. Some 50 local and foreign institutional investors participated, a spokeswoman for the company said.
The proceeds are earmarked for operations, the company said, but could also be partly used to fund acquisitions.
Publicly traded Paradise (KS: 034230) is on the leading edge of a government-backed push to attract investment in resort-scale casinos to help boost the economy through increased tourism. The company is partnering with Japanese pachinko giant Sega Sammy Holdings on a mixed-use resort with gaming to open in phases at a special economic zone near the main international airport at Incheon. The first phase is scheduled to open in 2016.
A consortium led by Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment is also developing a resort casino in the zone. Jeju, in the far south of the country, also is generating interest and will host a resort planned by Genting Singapore and Chinese partners.
The South Korean market consists currently of 17 casinos generating around US$2.7 billion in combined annual gaming revenue. Kangwon Land in the far northeast of the country, the only domestic operator allowed by law, accounts for about half. The rest is split among 16 casinos restricted to foreign passport holders—most of them Chinese and Japanese—and 90% of the trade is controlled by Paradise and Grand Korea Leisure. The latter, also listed (KS: 114090) and partly owned by the government, runs three casinos in Seoul and Busan.
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