{"id":215882,"date":"2022-06-03T09:21:23","date_gmt":"2022-06-03T16:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=215882"},"modified":"2022-06-06T15:05:07","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T22:05:07","slug":"okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/","title":{"rendered":"Okada Manila SPAC Deal Nears Closure Amid Founder’s Coup Attempt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite a recent coup attempt by its founder — one some describe as violent — Okada Manila is close to finalizing a merger with Jason Ader\u2019s special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) 26 Capital (NASDAQ:ADER), setting the stage for a US listing.<\/p>\n

\"Okada
The Okada Manila integrated resort in the Philippines. The company is close to listing in the US. (Image: The Philippine Business and News<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The blank-check company announced today that Universal Entertainment\u2019s Form F-4 registration statement is now effective with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Universal Entertainment, the Japanese pachinko giant that\u2019s the parent company of Okada Manila, is rolling 100 percent of the equity in the casino operator, and Ader\u2019s 26 Capital is providing up to $275 million in cash to the business.<\/p>\n

The SPAC set today as the record date, meaning shareholders as of today will be eligible to vote on the proposed transaction at a meeting scheduled for June 28.<\/p>\n

If the proposals at the Special Meeting are approved, the parties anticipate that the Business Combination will close shortly thereafter, subject to the satisfaction of all other closing conditions,\u201d<\/strong> according to a statement. \u201cUpon closing, the combined company is expected to be listed on Nasdaq with its common shares.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The blank-check deal values Okada Manila<\/a> at $2.6 billion. The stock will trade under the ticker \u201cUERI\u201d upon closure of the transaction.<\/p>\n

Interesting Timing to Say the Least<\/h2>\n

Noting that objective of SPACs is to see mergers reach the finish line<\/a>, the timing of 26 Capital confirming the aforementioned registration is still interesting, as it arrives just three days after billionaire Kazuo Okada’s attempt to physically seize control of the Philippines integrated resort bearing his name.<\/p>\n

\n

Tiger Resort, Leisure & Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI) — the parent company of Okada Manila — said that on May 31, 50 private security guards and members of the Paranaque City Police attempted to seize control<\/a> of the integrated resort. \u00a0It\u2019s believed that the venue, including the casino and hotel, are functioning as normal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Subsequently, the Philippines casino regulator PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) said it\u2019s not getting involved in the matter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Okada believes he was unfairly ousted from the TRLEI board in 2017, and is seen as leveraging an April ruling by the Philippines Supreme Court ordering the company to return the board to its 2017 state to affect the takeover of Okada Manila.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okada Manila Bringing Hope to Gaming SPACs<\/h2>\n

Following a series of ill-fated gaming blank-check transactions in 2020 and 2021, Okada Manila could breathe new life into gaming SPACs.<\/p>\n

Okada Manila makes for a unique publicly traded gaming company \u2014 by SPAC or otherwise \u2014 simply because it\u2019s a one-property entity. However, the venue is profitable,<\/a> and its first-quarter revenue surged more than 30%.<\/p>\n

The gaming company could also be a viable candidate for expansion. Ader, who also runs investment firm SpringOwl Asset Management, previously said the operator could eventually evaluate opportunities in Japan, depending upon how integrated resort policy in that country plays out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite a recent coup attempt by its founder — one some describe as violent — Okada Manila is close to finalizing a merger with Jason Ader\u2019s special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) 26 Capital (NASDAQ:ADER), setting the stage for a US listing. The blank-check company announced today that Universal Entertainment\u2019s Form F-4 registration statement is now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":215885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOkada Manila Close To Finalizing SPAC Deal Despite Controversy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Okada Manila nears US listing as founder attempts takeover of venue.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Okada Manila Close To Finalizing SPAC Deal Despite Controversy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Okada Manila nears US listing as founder attempts takeover of venue.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-03T16:21:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-06T22:05:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OM2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1066\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/\",\"name\":\"Okada Manila Close To Finalizing SPAC Deal Despite Controversy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OM2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-03T16:21:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-06T22:05:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Okada Manila nears US listing as founder attempts takeover of venue.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OM2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OM2.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1066,\"caption\":\"The Okada Manila integrated resort in the Philippines. The company is close to listing in the US. (Image: The Philippine Business and News)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Asia Pacific Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/asia-pacific-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Okada Manila SPAC Deal Nears Closure Amid Founder’s Coup Attempt\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\",\"name\":\"Todd Shriber\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Todd Shriber\"},\"description\":\"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Okada Manila Close To Finalizing SPAC Deal Despite Controversy","description":"Okada Manila nears US listing as founder attempts takeover of venue.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Okada Manila Close To Finalizing SPAC Deal Despite Controversy","og_description":"Okada Manila nears US listing as founder attempts takeover of venue.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2022-06-03T16:21:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-06-06T22:05:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1066,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OM2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Todd Shriber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@etfgodfather","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Todd Shriber","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/","name":"Okada Manila Close To Finalizing SPAC Deal Despite Controversy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OM2.jpg","datePublished":"2022-06-03T16:21:23+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-06T22:05:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85"},"description":"Okada Manila nears US listing as founder attempts takeover of venue.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OM2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OM2.jpg","width":1600,"height":1066,"caption":"The Okada Manila integrated resort in the Philippines. The company is close to listing in the US. (Image: The Philippine Business and News)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-close-to-finalizing-spac-deal-despite-controversy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Asia Pacific Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/asia-pacific-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Okada Manila SPAC Deal Nears Closure Amid Founder’s Coup Attempt"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85","name":"Todd Shriber","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","caption":"Todd Shriber"},"description":"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/","https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215882"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}