Travellers gets minority shareholders’ OK to leave stock market

Integrated gaming resort operator Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. has obtained consent from a sufficient number of minority shareholders to proceed with its voluntary delisting from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The developer and operator of Resorts World Manila disclosed to the local bourse on Thursday that a total of 1.32 billion common shares had been tendered at P5.50 per share at the end of the offer period on Sept. 23. A total of 261.81 million shares forming the public float had not been tendered.

As such, Travellers’ resulting public float will go down to less than 2 percent from 10.4 percent after the crossing of shares on Sept. 30.

This is the second gaming company to delist from the local bourse after City of Dreams operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp., which was involuntarily delisted in June as its public float fell below the minimum requirement.

Travellers, which trades under the ticker RWM, has prepared to shell out as much as P8.7 billion to buy back up to 1.58 billion common shares held by minority shareholders in line with its voluntary delisting plan.

Once the company is delisted, shareholders who are stuck with shares of a nonpublic company will henceforth have to pay a capital gains tax of between 5 and 10 percent if and when they unload their shares.

In its fairness opinion, independent financial adviser PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), through local partner Isla Lipana & Co., pegged the tender offer price at P5.50 per share.

A fairness opinion is a report written by qualified analysts or advisors who evaluate the facts of a merger, acquisition, carve out, spin-off, buyback or another type of purchase. The analyst assesses whether or not the proposed stock price is fair to the selling or target company.