Dennis Uy eyes P1-B share sale amid pandemic

Two years after backdoor-listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy-led gaming resort developer PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc. (PHR) has rekindled plans to raise equity from a follow-on equity deal or re-initial public offering.

Braving the volatile stock market during this coronavirus pandemic, PHR plans to raise up to P1.125 billion from the sale of new shares to the public.

Based on a disclosure to the PSE on Monday, the company’s board approved a follow-on offering of up to 450 million common shares at a price of at least P1 to as much as P2.50 a share.

The base offer is 300 million common shares but there will be an overallotment option of up to 150 million new shares.

To recall, PHR was planning a follow-on offering worth as much as P12 billion in 2019 but this had been shelved to “consider other funding options” at that time.

The proposed follow-on offering is subject to the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PSE.

PHR, formerly Philippine H2O Ventures Corp., was originally incorporated as Calapan Equity Ventures. In 2018, Uy’s Udenna Corp. gained a controlling stake in the company, which was transformed to be the group’s holding entity for tourism-related businesses.

The company is currently valued by the stock market at P11.98 billion. As of end-March, PHR had P16 billion worth of assets.

In 2017, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) issued a 15-year provisional license authorizing the group, through its subsidiary LapuLapu Leisure Inc., to develop about 13.5 hectares of property in Mactan Island and to establish and operate casinos and engage in gaming activities. In 2018, Pagcor also issued a provisional license to another subsidiary, Clark Grand Leisure Corp. (CGLC), for the development of an integrated tourism resort and to establish and operate a casino within Clark Freeport Zone.

The group is currently constructing The Emerald Bay. The project will be constructed in two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.

CGLC currently leases the site on which the Clark Resort will be located from Global Gateway Development Corp. The project is currently in the design phase.

Another subsidiary, PHR Donatela Hotel Panglao Corp. (DHPC), is the owner of the Donatela Resort & Sanctuary, a boutique-style, upscale hotel in Tawala, Panglao Island, Bohol. DHPC acquired the hotel in 2017 and commenced its operations in January 2018. This resort is undergoing an expansion program. INQ