BUSINESSMAN Dennis Uy's PH Resorts (PHR) Group Holdings Inc. said Tuesday that a deal with Tiger Resort Leisure Holdings Corp. (TRLEI) to acquire a majority stake in PHR's Emerald Bay project in Cebu had been called off.

Tiger Resort is the operator of Okada Manila, an integrated casino, hotel and entertainment complex located at the Entertainment City, Pasay City.

"[T]he company hereby discloses that its subsidiary, PH Travel and Leisure Holdings Corp. (PTLHC), received a letter from Tiger Resort Leisure & Entertainment Inc. today, 1 July 2024, terminating the term sheet dated 8 December 2023," PH Resorts said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

Under the term sheet, TRLEI "was to acquire a significant majority ownership of PH Travel's subsidiaries, namely Lapulapu Leisure, Inc. and Lapulapu Land Corp., which are the entities that operate the Emerald Bay Project, located in Mactan, Cebu," the company said.

"Originally, the parties intended to execute the definitive agreement under the term sheet in July 2024."

If TRLEI had taken a majority stake in the two PHR units that operated Emerald Bay, the Okada operator would take over the development of the resort, subject to the execution of a definitive agreement.

"We understand that the Okada Manila operator no longer intends to pursue the Emerald Bay acquisition," PHR President Raymundo Martin M. Escalona said in a statement.

"This development shall give PHR the opportunity to engage with other parties which have already expressed their keen interest in the Emerald Bay Project, but have been unable to formalize due to the restrictions under the TRLEI deal," he added.

He did not name the other parties.

Escalona assured that the company was "already working towards another transaction, be it an acquisition, joint venture, or otherwise, that will ensure the completion of the Emerald Bay Project."

Emerald Bay, a proposed integrated resort on Mactan Island in Cebu, is envisioned to be a premier entertainment destination outside Metro Manila.

"PHR will make the necessary disclosures to the public on further developments at the appropriate time," the company said.

Following news of the failed deal, PH Resort shares tumbled 19.44 percent to 58 centavos apiece amid a 0.62-percent fall for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.