Razon company completes buyout of Active Alliance

Enrique Razon Jr.’s Prime Metroline Transit Corp. has completed its acquisition of listed firm Active Alliance Inc. (AAI), giving the former control in the firm it plans to use as listing vehicle for the group’s hotel-casino venture.

“The cross transaction covering the sale to Prime Metroline of 60 million shares in AAI by Wespac Holdings, Kristopher G. Reyes, Patrick Villamor, Ariel Arriola and Ypsilon Lake Corp. was effected today through the facilities of the Philippine Stock Exchange,” AAI said in a disclosure on Friday.

The shares, representing a 75-percent stake in the company, were priced at P3.33 each, for a total consideration of P200 million. This is much lower than AAI’s closing price of P51.05 each on Friday, putting the company’s market capitalization at P4.04 billion.

In a separate disclosure, AAI said Prime Metroline intends to conduct a tender offer for the 20 million shares held by minority shareholders.

Investors that tender their shares can expect to be paid P3.33 each, the same price AAI’s former controlling stockholders received, in line with local securities laws.

Once it solidifies its stake in AAI, Prime Metroline also plans to increase the firm’s authorized capital stock to as much as P15 billion. “However, the exact amount of increase in the capitalization has not yet been determined,” AAI said.

“[Prime Metroline] plans to eventually use AAI as its listed vehicle for its hotel-casino project, which is currently under construction,” the disclosure read.

AAI said its new parent firm was originally intended to engage in the railway business, but was not able to pursue this venture.

“It now owns, through its subsidiaries, a hotel and casino project being constructed at Pagcor’s [Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.] Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City Manila,” AAI said.

Specifically, Prime Metroline owns Sureste Properties Inc., which in turn owns Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc.

Sureste owns the hotel project while Bloomberry owns that casino project now being constructed at Pagcor Entertainment City.

Prime Metroline is wholly owned by Razon and has a paid-up capital of P800 million.

Razon-led Bloomberry is building a $1.2-billion integrated casino and tourism facility in Pagcor Entertainment City.

The Bagong Nayong Pilipino complex will be the location of four multi-billion dollar hotels-casinos that is expected to establish the Philippines as a major gaming hub in the Asia Pacific region, rivaling current giants’ Macau and Singapore.