Posted on: February 13, 2026, 12:32h.
Last updated on: February 13, 2026, 12:32h.
- A transaction didn’t materialize for City of Dreams Manila
- Ho says considered alternatives didn’t maximize the venue’s value
- Melco could reevaluate the situation down the road
Nearly a year to the day after it unveiled a strategic review for its City of Dreams Manila casino hotel, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ: MLCO) announced that process is over.
The gaming company conducted its fourth-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday with CEO Lawrence Ho noting the review of alternatives for the Philippines gaming venue, which commenced in February 2025, had drawn to a close.
We have also concluded our evaluation of the strategic alternatives for COD Manila,” Ho told analysts on the call. “Although we considered various alternatives, we did not feel that any of those options would allow the value and potential of the property to be fully realized.”
He added that Melco is optimistic business in the Philippines will bounce back and that it’s possible will the operator will resume reviewing alternatives for City of Dreams Manila in the future.
Melco Investors Aren’t Disappointed by Manila Casino Update
At this writing, shares of Melco are up 3% on volume that could exceed the daily average, indicating Melco shareholders aren’t dejected by news of the company retaining City of Dreams of Manila.
That’s a win for the operator because some analysts estimated the company could fetch as much as $600 million in a sale of the venue. It’s not clear if that’s the price at which Melco wanted to sell the property or if that’s even a ballpark figure, but had the company affected a transaction at that price point, it would have represented more than a quarter of its market capitalization of $2.11 billion.
Over the course of the process, Melco was transparent, telling analysts and investors the review was advancing, but obviously no transaction came to pass.
As to why that’s the case, it’s may have a symptom of a dearth of credible buyers or an asking price — one that was never publicly released — that was too high, but Melco hasn’t commented to either effect.
Melco Manila Casino Facing Competitive Pressures
Manila isn’t Las Vegas or Macau, but it is a competitive casino market and it appears City of Dreams may be getting the bad end of that competition for the time being.
“In the Philippines, competitive pressures and industry headwinds continued to impact our performance in the fourth quarter of 2025,” said Ho on the conference call. “However, we’re encouraged by the positive developments in that market, including visa-free travel for Chinese nationals, upgrades to the Manila airport to facilitate increasing international tourism, and rationalisation of the online gaming market.”
In the final three months of 2025, City of Dreams Manila’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and sales significantly declined.