{"id":175187,"date":"2021-06-01T08:05:04","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T15:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=175187"},"modified":"2021-06-01T10:43:09","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T17:43:09","slug":"okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal Entertainment Hit with CCC+ Credit Rating as Fitch Worries About Okada Manila SPAC Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japanese gaming company Universal Entertainment Corp.’s (UEC) credit rating has been lowered to \u201cCCC+\u201d from \u201cB\u201d by Fitch Ratings. The research firm expressed concerns about the operator’s plans to list its Okada Manila integrated resort business on a US exchange.<\/p>\n

\"Okada
The sign for Okada Manila integrated resort pictured above. Fitch is wary of Universal Entertainment’s SPAC plans and cash flow. (Image: Pinterest)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Corporate bonds rated in \u201cC\u201d territory are considered highly speculative and vulnerable to default. That’s particularly relevant when it comes to Universal because the pachinko device manufacturer has $118 million worth of senior secured notes coming due in December. Fitch worries that the company may not have the liquidity to service that debt unless free cash flow (FCF) \u201cimproves significantly in the second half or additional funding is raised.\u201d<\/p>\n

We also believe that UEC’s business profile is no longer commensurate with the ‘B’ category in view of its increased earnings and cash flow volatility, which has been amplified by the pandemic in both the casino business and domestic operations,\u201d said the ratings agency.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Okada Manila is the largest integrated resort in Manila’s Entertainment City. Gaming venues in the region have only recently resumed operating<\/a> following the coronavirus pandemic and are doing so at limited capacity. For now, Okada is only allowing members of its loyalty program and devoted gamblers into the casino.<\/p>\n

Okada Manila SPAC Deal Not a Fix<\/h2>\n

Earlier this year, Universal said it’s looking for a US-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to partner with to bring the Okada Manila business to a US equity exchange<\/a>, such as the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).<\/p>\n

\n

Such a transaction could help with the parent company’s liquidity concerns. But it doesn’t account for a possible uptick in COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, which would likely lead to another shutdown of the venue. Nor does the plan factor that blank-check transactions recently fell out of favor<\/a>, as investors question slack post-deal performance by the target companies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cUEC believes it has several options to shore up liquidity, such as a potential listing of its Philippine-based casino business or a refinancing. Considerable uncertainty exists over these options because UEC is vulnerable to pandemic-related disruptions,\u201d said Fitch.<\/p>\n

Universal announced in February that it’s pursuing a merger for the integrated resort business with a US-based SPAC, and said in late March<\/a> that it’s mulling several offers. But the company has been quiet on this front for over two months.<\/p>\n

Tough Comps for Universal<\/h2>\n

Based on profitability and regional exposure, Okada Manila is somewhat comparable to Australia’s Crown Resorts and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS). But those operators are rated \u201cBBB\u201d and \u201cBBB-\u201d, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrown and Sands also operate in more stable regulatory regimes than UEC,\u201d <\/strong>adds Fitch. \u201cThe Japanese company’s execution and operational risks are also notably higher than that of Crown and other peers, as UEC has not yet established its position in the junket and high roller segments.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Analysts expect operators with exposure to the Philippines will see those venues post only modest recoveries later this year before returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japanese gaming company Universal Entertainment Corp.’s (UEC) credit rating has been lowered to \u201cCCC+\u201d from \u201cB\u201d by Fitch Ratings. The research firm expressed concerns about the operator’s plans to list its Okada Manila integrated resort business on a US exchange. Corporate bonds rated in \u201cC\u201d territory are considered highly speculative and vulnerable to default. That’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":175188,"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 Parent Universal Credit Rating Downgraded<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Universal Entertainment, owner of Okada Manila casino, now sports highly speculative credit rating.\" \/>\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 Parent Universal Credit Rating Downgraded\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Universal Entertainment, owner of Okada Manila casino, now sports highly speculative credit rating.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/\" \/>\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=\"2021-06-01T15:05:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-01T17:43:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/OM.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\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=\"3 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-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/\",\"name\":\"Okada Manila Parent Universal Credit Rating Downgraded\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/OM.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-01T15:05:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-01T17:43:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Universal Entertainment, owner of Okada Manila casino, now sports highly speculative credit rating.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/OM.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/OM.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"The Okada Manila integrated resort. Fitch is wary of Universal Entertainment's SPAC plans and cash flow. (Image: Pinterest)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Financial\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Universal Entertainment Hit with CCC+ Credit Rating as Fitch Worries About Okada Manila SPAC Deal\"}]},{\"@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 Parent Universal Credit Rating Downgraded","description":"Universal Entertainment, owner of Okada Manila casino, now sports highly speculative credit rating.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Okada Manila Parent Universal Credit Rating Downgraded","og_description":"Universal Entertainment, owner of Okada Manila casino, now sports highly speculative credit rating.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2021-06-01T15:05:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-01T17:43:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/OM.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":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/","name":"Okada Manila Parent Universal Credit Rating Downgraded","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/OM.jpg","datePublished":"2021-06-01T15:05:04+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-01T17:43:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85"},"description":"Universal Entertainment, owner of Okada Manila casino, now sports highly speculative credit rating.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/OM.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/OM.jpg","width":1500,"height":1200,"caption":"The Okada Manila integrated resort. Fitch is wary of Universal Entertainment's SPAC plans and cash flow. (Image: Pinterest)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/okada-manila-parent-universal-credit-rating-downgraded\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Financial","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Universal Entertainment Hit with CCC+ Credit Rating as Fitch Worries About Okada Manila SPAC Deal"}]},{"@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\/175187"}],"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=175187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}