Belle Corporation is seeking to buy all P4.6 billion worth of minority-held shares of the highly-profitable gaming subsidiary Premium Leisure Corporation (PLC) with the intent of voluntarily delisting it from the Philippine Stock Exchange.
In a disclosure to the PSE, PLC said it was “informed of the intention of Belle Corporation to undertake a mandatory tender offer, as approved by BEL's Board of Directors on Monday, March 11, 2024, on all outstanding common shares of PLC.
“The tender offer price is to be determined upon receipt and acceptance by the BEL Board of the fairness opinion report of First Metro Investments Corporation.
“The tender offer will be for the purpose of the voluntary delisting of PLC shares from The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE).”
Based on PSE records, PLC has 31.22 billion outstanding shares, 31.63 billion listed and issued shares, and a free float level of 20.08 percent. It has a market capitalization of P22.79 billion based on its last traded price of P0.74 per share.
PLC said that, in a special meeting, its Board of Directors approved the voluntary delisting of PLC shares from the PSE, subject to the successful tender offer by Belle and in accordance with the requirements of the PSE for voluntary delisting. Belle will serve as proponent for the voluntary delisting of PLC.
Because of this development, the PSE approved PLC’s request for voluntary trading suspension of its shares at the PSE during the trading hours of March 11, 2024 until 9:00 AM of March 12, 2024 to allow the investing public equal access to and consideration of this information.
PLC reported two weeks ago an 85 percent surge in consolidated net income to P2.32 billion last year from P1.26 billion in 2022 on the back of strong gaming and lottery revenues.
The firm said its consolidated revenues rose 41 percent to P2.94 billion for the year ended 2023 from the P2.08 billion achieved in 2022.
PLC said its gaming revenue share through its wholly owned subsidiary Premium Leisure & Amusement, Inc. jumped by 50 percent to P2.34 billion in 2023 from P1.56 billion in 2022 due to significantly enhanced mass and VIP operations at City of Dreams Manila.
Meanwhile, Pacific Online Systems Corporation, PLC’s majority owned subsidiary, also delivered solid results, achieving a 44 percent growth in net income to P275 million in 2023 from P191 million in the previous year.
PLC is an investment holding company that participates in gaming-related businesses in the Philippines.
Through its partnership with Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corporation, PLC has an interest in the development of City of Dreams Manila, an integrated entertainment and gaming complex located at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Entertainment City in Parañaque City.
PLC also owns a 50.1 percent stake in Pacific Online Systems Corporation, a publicly-listed company that provides lottery software and equipment to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, the government entity that runs lottery operations in the country.