Tiger Resort Asia Ltd (TRAL), the Hong Kong-listed entity that owns 99.99% of the shares in Okada Manila Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc (TRLEI), has issued a public advisory warning the public from transacting with the Kazuo Okada-led board headed by Kazuo Okada, Tonyboy Cojuangco and Dindo Espeleta.
The advisory states that “Any transaction supposedly made on behalf of TRLEI by Kazuo Okada, Cojuangco, and Espeleta or their agents and representatives will not be honored or recognized by TRAL. TRAL has not authorized Mr Kazuo Okada to represent it in TRLEI and has not awarded him any shares in TRLEI.
“The public is advised to only conduct business with the TRAL-recognized board of TRLEI led by Hajime Tokuda and Byron Yip.”
The advisory is the latest development in the ongoing battle for control of Okada Manila by the two factions after the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued in April a Status Quo Ante Order (SQAO) ordering restoration of the composition of the board of directors of TRLEI to its 2017 line-up, before a dispute that saw Kazuo Okada removed from the boards of both TRLEI and its parent company Universal Entertainment Corp (UEC).
Kazuo Okada subsequently took control of the integrated resort late last month with the help of around 50 security guards and law enforcement officers. However, the TRAL-approved board has described the takeover as illegal and illegitimate, and has filed criminal charges against Kazuo Okada and his representatives over the 31 May incident.
That description was echoed by Jason Ader, Founder and CEO of Springowl Asset Management and driving force behind the 26 Capital SPAC looking to list Okada Manila on the NASDAQ.
UEC also announced last week that it had decided to delay the deadline for completion of its planned NASDAQ listing of Okada Manila by three months until 30 September 2022 while the situation is resolved.
