Bloomberry to hold $200M equity offering

Bloomberry Resorts Corp. of tycoon Enrique “Ricky” Razon Jr. will soon embark on a $200-million equity offering to fund the development of his hotel-casino project at Pagcor City.

Bloomberry mandated UBS and CLSA to arrange a re-initial public offering (IPO) after its backdoor listing on the local stock exchange, industry sources told the Inquirer.

The re-IPO will be done through a “top-up” offering, which means Razon’s group will first “lend” some secondary shares for a quicker equity deal but the proceeds will flow into the company as the group will later purchase the same number of primary shares that will be issued at a later date.

Proceeds will help fund the completion of Bloomberry’s $1-billion hotel-casino project, Solaire Manila, the first gaming complex to open at Pagcor City toward the end of this year.

The sources said this equity deal—which would likely be launched in the next few weeks—would help “correct” the market’s “overvaluation” of Bloomberry shares at the local stock market.

“This placement will reflect its true value,” one source said.

As of Wednesday’s close, Bloomberry has a market capitalization of P148.48 billion based on its closing price of P13.50 per share, which fell by another 15.5 percent in anticipation of a new shares issuance.

Bloomberry is believed to be trading at “overvalued” levels because the market was overexcited with Razon’s backdoor listing through AAI Corp. and many bought shares at higher prices. But recently, Bloomberry’s prices have been falling as the market started to look more closely into its net asset value, stock dealers said.

For instance, Bloomberry is currently valued higher than tycoon Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc., which already has a successful entertainment/gaming venture at Resorts World Manila and a license to build another complex at Pagcor City. AGI, however, is valued at only P126.3 billion based on Wednesday’s close.

Another peer, Belle Corp., is valued at only P52.58 billion when it is expected to open its casino complex in Pagcor City shortly after Bloomberry’s debut. Also, Belle has leisure estate Tagaytay Highlands in its portfolio.

Phase one of Razon’s project (via Sureste Properties Inc. and gaming firm Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc.) is a 14-story building complex with an 11-story hotel on top of a three-level podium and a 10-story parking building with an 11th floor for machines and equipment. The hotel, restaurants, retail, recreation and back-of-house facilities will occupy 73,484 square meters while there will be about 22,268 sqm of casino and gaming space.—Doris C. Dumlao