Bloomberry to sell up to 11.45% of stock in IPO

MANILA, Philippines—Bloomberry Resorts Corp., developer of the first integrated gaming complex to open in Pagcor’s Entertainment City, expects to bring to public hands about 11.45 percent of the company from a re-initial public offering, or re-IPO, worth around P8.55 billion, in early May.

Bloomberry has also granted Global Gaming Philippines Llc. (GGAM), its management/technical partner in the Solaire Manila project, the option to acquire 9.91-percent of Bloomberry any time before the casino opens its doors by the first quarter of 2013.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, Bloomberry said it was planning to sell up to 1.18 billion shares from the ongoing top-up offering of between P6.55 and P8.25 per share. Assuming an indicative offer price of P7.25 per share, the company said gross proceeds would be around P8.55 billion ($200 million based on an exchange rate of 42.6:$1).

The offer price is targeted to be finalized by May 3 through a book-building process following discussions among Bloomberry, its controlling shareholder Prime Metroline Holdings led by businessman Enrique Razon Jr. and arrangers CLSA and UBS.  The price will be determined after an international road show.

Under this re-IPO via a “top-up” scheme, Prime Metroline will lend some secondary shares of Bloomberry for sale to new investors but will buy the same number of shares to be issued by Bloomberry in the future, thereby channeling proceeds from the equity deal into the gaming complex.

“The conduct of an equity fund raising by way of a placing and subscription transaction allows Bloomberry to raise equity funds in a most expeditious and efficient manner, with the least cost to Bloomberry for its Solaire Manila project,” the disclosure said.

“The transaction is also intended to strengthen and broaden the capital base of Bloomberry as well as to promote a wider dispersion of the common shares of Bloomberry to a broad spectrum of public institutional investors and to comply with the requirement for minimum public ownership of a listed company,” it added.

Net proceeds from this offering will fund phase 1 of Bloomberry’s Solaire Manila project in Pagcor’s Entertainment City, which is targeted to commence operations by the first quarter of 2013.

Meanwhile, Bloomberry has granted GGAM the option to buy up to 921.18 million shares equivalent to 9.91 percent at P1 per share plus $15 million. The option will expire if not exercised by the date of commercial operations of Solaire Manila.

GGAM is an investor, developer and manager of casino resort properties based in Las Vegas. It is led by William Weidner (former president of Las Vegas Sands), Bradley Stone (former president of global operations and construction of Las Vegas Sands) and Garry Saunders (former chief operating officer of Melco Crown). These three principals each have decades of integrated tourism resort and gaming experience in Las Vegas and Macau.

Under the terms of a management services agreement, GGAM provides planning, technical and other advisory services to the Solaire Manila project during its construction and fit-out stage. It will also provide management services when Solaire Manila commences commercial operations.