Billionaire Enrique Razon K. Jr. said he would oppose the moves of US-based casino operator Global Gaming Asset Management Philippines (GGAM) to force his companies to give out the $296.6-million award that GGAM initially won in a Singapore arbitration tribunal.
Razon said the enforcement of that arbitral award is on appeal at the Singapore Court of Appeals. This is in addition to a court case in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati City, which issued a writ of attachment and writ of preliminary injunction against the shares in Bloomberry Resorts Corp. that GGAM, the former operator of Solaire Resorts and Casino, was trying to sell while arbitration was pending.
GGAM’s action to lift the attachment and injunction issued by the RTC is even now pending in the Philippine Supreme Court, said Bloomberry Resorts Corp.
“Mr. Razon and the companies associated with him will vigorously oppose this shameless GGAM forum shopping and attempt to enforce an arbitral award against those who are not a party to the arbitration.”
GGAM last week sued Razon and several companies associated with him in the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York. The suit is to enforce an arbitral award against two Philippine companies owned by Bloomberry.
“GGAM previously dragged Razon in a suit in Hong Kong against Deutsche Bank to compel the release of its shares in Bloomberry subject of the RTC attachment and injunction,” it said.
“GGAM had to ask the Hong Kong court to suspend the proceedings because of the subsisting Philippine court actions. GGAM had to pay the cost of Mr. Razon as the Hong Kong court considered GGAM’s implicating Mr. Razon there unwarranted.”
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 five years, with the option to extend by another five years.
Razon, however, fired GGAM in 2013 shortly after the opening of Solaire, accusing the Las Vegas-based firm of “just sitting on their laurels,” and allowing the billionaire’s management to do most of the leg work including bringing in VIP gamblers from Macau and China.
Razon went on to create his own team to operate Solaire, but GGAM took the billionaire to the Singapore arbitration tribunal.
In its 2016 decision, the Singapore court sided with GGAM and said it has not misled Razon into signing a management agreement to operate Solaire.
The court, in its partial award, also said there is no basis for Razon 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 only a Philippine court can order the enforcement of such award.
The tribunal, however, rejected the claim of GGAM that it was defamed by the heated statements of Razon against the firm.
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