Belle raising P5.39 B from sale of Premium Leisure shares

MANILA, Philippines - Henry Sy-controlled Belle Corp. and its subsidiaries will raise  P5.39 billion ($121 million) from shares it will unload from Premier Leisure Corp. (PLC), formerly known as Sinophil Corp., following its recently concluded week-long roadshow.

In a disclosure to the local bourse, Belle said its selling shareholders and joint global bookrunners have agreed to set the price of the planned sale of up to 3.26 billion common shares at P1.65 each.

Belle will sell 3.003 billion shares it currently holds in PLC, while subsidiaries, Foundation Capital Resources Inc. and Parallax Resources Inc. will unload 156.53 million and 13.82 million shares, respectively. Affiliate APC Group Inc. will likewise sell 90 million shares.

Belle said it also agreed to sell up to 489.56 million additional common shares in PLC for the over-allotment option if it would be exercised.

CLSA Ltd, Credit Suisse (Singapore) Ltd and Macquarie Capital (Singapore) Pte Ltd have been tapped as joint global bookrunners of the transaction. CLSA will likewise act as the sole global coordinator.

The offer shares were crossed through the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday while settlement for the offer shares is expected to occur on Oct. 2.

Belle officials have embarked on a week-long roadshow last Sept. 19 to meet with potential investors locally and abroad.

Belle, which owns around 90 percent of PLC, is the upscale property developer and leisure gaming company controlled by the SM Group of retail tycoon Henry Sy.

PLC earlier said it is looking to sell shares to the public to improve its liquidity, with the secondary offering involving majority stockholder Belle selling as much as 20 percent of Sinophil’s outstanding shares.

Last July, stockholders approved Belle’s plan to inject into Sinophil the 100-percent ownership of Premium Leisure Amusements Inc. (PLAI) and its 34.5-percent stake in Pacific Online Systems Corp. worth P1.525 billion.

PLAI is part of the consortium that holds the license for the $1.3-billion City of Dreams Manila that will be operated by Macau-based casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd., Pacific Online is the online lottery system provider of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in the Visayas and Mindanao.