PBL and Melco Development International are bidding in a consortium with Eighth Wonder, a US-based resort and casino operator, for the casino operating licence and to develop and construct an integrated resort worth US$3.5 billion ($4.6 billion), to be constructed on Sentosa Island.

“Initial bids for the casino resort complex were lodged some 12 months ago, but the PBL Melco involvement in the bid with Eighth Wonder was only ratified and submitted at the 11th hour,” said John Stawyskyj, Blakes’ national head of practice hotels, tourism and gaming.

“This meant we had to work within an incredibly tight time frame to advise and negotiate complex contractual agreements, which involved negotiations across a number of countries and time zones, including Singapore, Hong Kong and the US.”

BDW worked with their client’s in-house legal team — including Crown Casino’s general counsel Michael Neilson and PBL’s counsel Andy Carr — over several weekends to complete the transaction documentation only 24 hours before the bid submission deadline.

BDW’s team also included Rhonda Hare, Lindy Randall and Pauline Tan from the hotels, tourism and gaming group. Advice was provided by James Marshall and Suzanne Aguis on structuring matters and by Lisa Ritson and Arthur Artinian on intellectual property issues.

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The Singapore Government is expected to announce the winning bidder for the casino complex later this year.

PBL Melco is a 50-50 joint venture between PBL and Macau’s gambling billionaire, Stanley Ho.