SM Group to take gaming arm Premium Leisure Corp private
MANILA, Philippines. – The SM Group is restructuring its publicly-listed gaming assets with the privatization of Premium Leisure Corp. (PLC), which has interests in City of Dreams Manila integrated casino and hotel along Manila Bay.
PLC, controlled by listed Belle Corp.—one of the portfolio companies of Sy-led conglomerate SM Investments Corp.—announced plans on Monday to voluntary delist from the Philippine Stock Exchange.
It said Belle will launch a tender offer to buy out minority stockholders who own about 20.1 percent of PLC, which transformed into a gaming company in 2014 after the infusion of gaming assets of what would become City of Dreams Manila.
The tender offer price will be determined by a third-party valuation study to be conducted by First Metro Investments Corp.
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Businessman Willy Ocier, the chair of PLC and Belle, told the Inquirer they aim to launch the tender offer by the first week of April this year.
“There was a need to clear the confusion about having two listed companies benefitting from the group’s gaming business,” Ocier said.
Voluntary delisting
The group also hoped the delisting of PLC will improve the share price of Belle, which surged by maximum limit of 50 percent to P1.92 each on Monday after the announcement. Shares of PLC were suspended and will resume trading today at 9:00 a.m.
“Belle’s holding company discount for its stock price was not sitting well with the major shareholders of Belle,” Ocier said.
PLC’s wholly-owned subsidiary Premium Leisure and Amusement Inc. is part of the Belle and SM Investments consortium that holds the gaming license for the City of Dreams Manila.
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The casino is being operated by the Philippine unit of Hong Kong billionaire Lawrence Ho’s Melco Resorts and Entertainment.
PLC, which also owns listed lotto firm Pacific Online Systems Corp., mainly earns from casino revenues.
In 2023, gaming revenue share soared by 50 percent to P2.34 billion as casino earnings in City of Dreams Manila recovered. Pacific Online earnings during the year also jumped 44 percent to P275 million.
PLC’s proposed delisting marks another exit for the PSE, which has been struggling to attract new initial public offerings as investors wait for clearer signs of an uptrend in the local stock market.
Companies that have announced IPO plans in 2024 were tycoon Edgar Saavedra’s Citicore Renewable Energy (P12.9 billion) and OceanaGold Philippines (P7.9 billion). The PSE confident it can lure more IPOs this year after delistings overtook new listings in the past year.
