PhilWeb raising P6B via private placement

MANILA, Philippines - Gaming service provider PhilWeb Corp. plan to raise P6 billion through a private placement of up to 300 million shares to support its expansion program.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said its stockholders unanimously approved management’s proposal to make a private placement of up to 300 million shares at a discount to market but in no case less than P20 per share.

The private placement will result in at least P6 billion worth of cash and receivables to the firm.

The shares to be sold are part of the 354.6 million shares currently in treasury which PhilWeb bought from Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) in 2013 at an average price of P11.90 or a total value of P4.2 billion.

Of the 354.6 million shares, 81.38 million shares are held by the company as treasury shares, while 260.39 million shares are held by wholly-owned subsidiary PhilWeb Casino Corp., and 12.85 million shares are held by another wholly-owned unit Pure Corporate Investments Ltd.

PhilWeb’s board or executive committee will still have to approve the price and payment terms of the private placement.

“With this war chest, the company will have the ability to go on an aggressive expansion program,” PhilWeb said.

As of the first quarter, PhilWeb’s net earnings grew 1.43 percent to P212.96 million from the P209.96 million in the same period last year.

The company’s net income result was due to the higher revenues generated which reached P414.70 million in the first quarter, a 4.65 percent hike from the P396.28 million in the same period in 2015.

Contributing to the growth in revenues were the e-Games stations and sports betting businesses.

PhilWeb was granted by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. the license to launch e-Games stations or Internet cafes exclusively dedicated to casino games.

Technology provided by PhilWeb allows patrons to choose from more than 300 casino games, including baccarat, blackjack, various slot machine games, video poker and sports betting.