Officials of a Japanese entertainment company in a merger fight over a Manila casino resort sought to improperly influence a prominent Filipino legislator to regain control of the property, a special purpose acquisition company suing Universal Entertainment alleged.
In a filing Monday in Delaware Chancery Court, the SPAC, 26 Capital Acquisition, claimed that Universal executives brought ¡°heavy luggage¡± to a meeting with Philippine House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez to try to secure his support in the dispute. They have been trying to take back control of the 40-hectare Okada Manila resort and casino, valued at $2.6 billion.
The filing includes emails that 26 Capital says show the executives flew from Japan to meet with Romualdez to enlist his help in pressuring the nation¡¯s Supreme Court to advance their interests. The SPAC¡¯s lawyers claim that Universal¡¯s wrongdoing includes ¡°potential bribery of governmental officials followed by efforts to run the deal clock out before such activity comes to light.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.