Amid an ongoing ownership rift between casino founder Kazuo Okada and Universal Entertainment, Okada Manila and Jason Ader’s 26 Capital Acquisition are delaying previously announced merger plans by a year, Casino.org reports.
The news emerged just over two weeks after Ader said he believed his blank-check firm and the Philippinian integrated resort operator could consummate the transaction before the end of this year, ultimately resulting in a Nasdaq listing for the gaming company.
It’s been nearly a year since the SPAC and Okada Manila, the world’s only Japanese-owned integrated resort, announced merger plans in a deal valuing the casino operator at $2.6 billion. The transaction has been hamstrung by Kazuo Okada’s often forceful efforts, which included a brief physical takeover of the hotel earlier this year, to reclaim his spot at the company.
Okada, 80, and several counterparts today were charged by the Philippines Department of Justice with “grave coercion.” Read more.
