PH Resorts Group Holdings, Inc., the gaming firm controlled by Dennis A. Uy, is asking for a voluntary trading halt of its shares while its follow-on offering is ongoing.
In a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said it is requesting for a trading half of 10 trading days or from October 21 to November 4, 2020.
This period coincides with the company’s offer period in relation to its follow- on offering until its listing date.
“The voluntary trading suspension is sought for the protection of its potential investors. Note that this follow-on offering is different compared to other companies conducting follow-on offerings and whose business is already known to the public because this is the first time that the Company is conducting a public offering under its gaming and hospitality business,” PH Resorts said.
It added that, “As such, we request that the Company be allowed an offer period that is akin to an Initial Public Offer whereby no shares are traded during its offer period until its listing date.”
PH Resorts explained that, “A trading suspension will allow the Company to conduct its follow-on offering activities without potential market manipulations on the current market price of its shares.”
The move is also seen to “allow the potential investors and the public to properly make investment decisions without being influenced by fluctuations in the trading price of the Company’s shares that may be caused by artificial market manipulations during the offer period until the follow-on shares are listed.”
PH Resorts has set the offer price for its follow-on offering at P1.68 per share for a total offering size of P756 million.
The price is near the middle of its price rage of P1.00 to P2.50 per share and results in a much lower offer size from the initial target of P12 billion. The price is equivalent to a 32.8 percent discount from the top-end of its price range. The firm plans to offer 300 million shares with an overallotment option of P150 million shares.