Belle Corp, a Philippine-listed company, announced plans to conduct a tender offer for all outstanding common shares of its gaming subsidiary, Premium Leisure Corp. (PLC) The company aims to voluntarily delist Premium Leisure from the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) main board, according to a filing on Monday.
Belle’s board of directors approved the decision on Monday. However, the move depends on a valuation study of Premium Leisure’s shares and a fairness opinion from an independent third party, as detailed in the filing.
Premium Leisure holds an investment in City of Dreams Manila, a casino resort in the Philippine capital. Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. manages the property through a subsidiary. Through one of its units, Premium Leisure receives part of the gaming revenue generated there. Additionally, it operates a lottery business through Pacific Online Systems Corp.
Belle hired investment bank First Metro Investment Corp to conduct the valuation study and provide the fairness opinion report.
Moreover, Belle will finalize the tender offer’s terms—including price, timing, and other conditions—after its board receives and accepts the fairness opinion.
According to Philippine Stock Exchange data, Premium Leisure has a public float of 20.1 percent. This slightly exceeds the 20-percent minimum, as noted by Maybank IBG Research on Tuesday.
Separately, Premium Leisure voluntarily requested to suspend trading in its shares on Monday. This move ensures equal access to, and consideration of, the disclosed information.
Also, Premium Leisure’s board approved the voluntary delisting of its shares from the stock exchange during a special meeting on Monday. The approval depends on Belle’s successful tender offer and meeting the exchange’s delisting requirements.
Meanwhile, Belle Corp reported a 49.9 percent year-on-year increase in casino revenue from its share of City of Dreams Manila’s gaming business in 2023. The revenue reached nearly PHP 2.34 billion.
