Philippines-based HatchAsia Inc has completed its takeover of Australian-listed Southeast Asian casino operator Silver Heritage Group, with six new directors replacing the former board as of last Friday.
Former CEO Mike Bolsover, Chairman Matthew Hunter and fellow director Darryl Kaplan are no longer associated with the company, replaced by representatives of the new ownership group, among them HatchAsia’s President and CEO Kirk A. Arambulo and DFNN Inc Executive Director Ramon C. Garcia Jr.
DFNN, which was recently the first company to receive a license from Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR to offer domestic online gaming services under the nation’s new PIGO scheme, owns almost 19% of HatchAsia.
Also on the new board is Rafael Jose D. Consing Jr, SVP and CFO of International Container Terminal Services, Inc – the Philippines shipping giant owned by billionaire Enrique Razon Jr.
Razon is also founder, Chairman and CEO of Bloomberry Resorts Corp, which owns Manila’s Solaire Resort and Casino.
In a Friday filing under the Silver Heritage ticker, KPMG administrators said a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) had now been fully effectuated and terminated, with “control of the company now returned to the newly appointed directors.”
Completion of HatchAsia’s takeover comes eight months after Silver Heritage, operator of Nepal casinos Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa and The Millionaire’s Club in Kathmandu, entered voluntary administration.
Silver Heritage stated at the time, “The company had been exploring options to generate liquidity and prior to the emergence of COVID-19 had received expressions of interest from several parties in respect of possible transactions.
“However, as a result of the emergence of COVID-19 and the forced temporary closure of the company’s facilities in Nepal, the timing in relation to consummating one of the transactions has become uncertain.”
Placed into administration by its main lender, OCP Asia, Silver Heritage was then subject to a takeover offer by HatchAsia that was to see the latter acquire 92% of issued share capital in the company by injecting AU$530,000 (US$410,000) in funding. HatchAsia also promised to issue new shares to an equivalent value of AU$530,000, which was subsequently confirmed via an ASX filing earlier this month. Funds raised from the issuance of new shares will be used to settle debts, the company said.
Silver Heritage had faced a series of hurdles in recent years, including lengthy delays to the launch of Tiger Palace in December 2017 which blew the budget out by around US$12 million.
The company then suffered a crippling blow in March 2019 when casino operations at Phoenix International Club in Vietnam, where Silver Heritage provided gaming management services, were shut down due to amendments to the property’s Investment Certificate which no longer allowed for the operation of gaming tables.
Phoenix had accounted for around 45% of the company’s group-wide revenue in 2018.
