GGRAsia – Genting Malaysia unit pays US$24.6 mln for Bahamas land

Genting Malaysia unit pays US$24.6 mln for Bahamas land

Sep 15, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck, World

BB Entertainment Ltd, a unit of Genting Malaysia Bhd, is paying US$24.6 million to RAV Bahamas Ltd for a piece of land on the Bimini Islands, Bahamas.

The 16.2 acres (6.6 hectares) land is adjacent to Resorts World Bimini (pictured). BB Entertainment owns and operates the casino in the property.

Genting Malaysia, part of a conglomerate – Genting Bhd – that invests globally in casinos, owns 70 percent of BB Entertainment. RAV Bahamas, a real estate developer, owns the other 30 percent in the company.

BB Entertainment is building a 307-key hotel on the land to increase room capacity to cater for more visitors, Genting Malaysia said in a filing.

The deal will give the Malaysian conglomerate better control in terms of planning for future development and expansion, it added.

The acquisition of the land is expected to be completed not later than December 31, 2014.

As part of the deal, BB Entertainment also entered into an option agreement with RAV Bahamas, under which it can acquire undeveloped land totalling 103.4 acres at a price to be agreed in the future. The option, which can be exercised at any time before March 19, 2016, gives BB Entertainment the opportunity to buy adjacent plots that can be used for future expansion, Genting Malaysia told the stock exchange.

A new Bahamas gaming property – Baha Mar Casino and Hotel – is due to open in late spring 2015.

The venue – part of the US$3.5-billion Baha Mar resort, majority-funded by the Export-Import Bank of China, a state-owned Chinese institution – will have what is being promoted as “the largest casino” in the Caribbean, at 100,000 square feet (9,290 square metres).

The gaming operation will be managed by former Las Vegas Sands Corp president Bill Weidner and his firm Global Gaming Asset Management LLC.

Genting Malaysia is currently revamping its Resorts World Genting – Malaysia’s only casino resort – and has bid for two casino licences in upstate New York in the US.