The paper said it has acquired an official notice which confirmed the casino, hotel and shopping complex — the largest foreigner-only casino in the country — has begun the sale process.
The notice reportedly says the proposed deal would be a rare opportunity to acquire a newly built, high-end resort complex with a fully approved casino licence.
In February, it was reported Bain had taken control of the property after Mohegan defaulted on a $275m loan to its MGE Korea Limited venture.
At the time, Mohegan itted in a statement it had not satisfied certain financial covenant tests, but highlighted it had not missed a payment of principal or interest.
It added that Bain rejected counter proposals to change the deal in-line with market precedents, but the firm had replied with offers that would have seen it receive large payments ahead of other lenders.
Mohegan said in the statement: “We have been and will continue to attempt to negotiate in good faith with Bain Capital to find a mutually agreeable solution that allows us to be continuing partners with the people of Korea and our various stakeholders.Mohegan: Change of control not in best interests
“We do not believe the change-of-control pursued by Bain Capital is in the best interests of the property, its team and customers, other lenders and various key stakeholders,” Mohegan said.
Speaking to the newspaper, Bain acknowledged that Inspire had begun the sale through an open market bidding process.
However, it claimed the move was part of a bid to finalise its legal ownership of the site to complete the asset transfer process, as well as establish its fair market value.
Inspire, which first opened its doors in February 2024, recorded 219bn won (€139.7m) in revenue in 2024, resulting in an operating loss of 156.4bn won.
If the sales process ended in Bain selling the property to a third-party entity, then the status of its casino licence would be in doubt, as a change in CEO requires approval from the Ministry of Tourism.
An official at the ministry told the newspaper: “The licence was granted to Inspire, so regardless of any changes in share ownership, Inspire is still obligated to meet certain conditions — such as making specific investments and constructing required facilities. We will continue to monitor how those are being upheld.”
