
Belle Corp, a Philippine-listed company, has announced its intention to conduct a tender offer for all outstanding common shares of its gaming subsidiary, Premium Leisure (PL) Corp. The objective is to seek the “voluntary delisting” of Premium Leisure from the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange, as stated in a filing by the parent company on Monday.
The decision, endorsed by Belle’s board of directors on Monday, is contingent upon a valuation study of Premium Leisure’s shares and the issuance of a fairness opinion by an independent third party, as outlined in the filing.
Premium Leisure holds an investment in City of Dreams Manila, a casino resort in the Philippine capital managed by a subsidiary of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. Through one of its units, Premium Leisure receives a portion of the gaming revenue generated at City of Dreams Manila. Additionally, Premium Leisure operates a lottery business through Pacific Online Systems Corp.
Belle Corp has engaged investment bank First Metro Investment Corp to conduct the valuation study and provide a fairness opinion report.
The terms of the tender offer, including the offer price, timing, and other conditions, will be determined and finalized upon Belle’s board of directors’ receipt and acceptance of the fairness opinion report.
According to data from the Philippine Stock Exchange, Premium Leisure has a public float of 20.1 percent, slightly exceeding the 20-percent requirement, as noted in a memo by Maybank IBG Research on Tuesday.
In a separate announcement, Premium Leisure stated that it had voluntarily requested the suspension of trading in its shares on Monday to ensure equal access to and consideration of the information provided.
Premium Leisure’s board of directors, in a special meeting on Monday, approved the voluntary delisting of Premium Leisure’s shares from the Philippine Stock Exchange, subject to the successful tender offer by Belle and compliance with the exchange’s requirements for voluntary delisting.
Belle Corp reported a 49.9 percent year-on-year increase in casino revenue generated from its share of the gaming business at City of Dreams Manila in 2023, amounting to nearly PHP2.34 billion