MELCO Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp. (MRP) stands to get delisted from the local bourse by June should it fail to meet the minimum public ownership (MPO) requirement.
In a memorandum dated May 14, the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) said that MRP will be automatically removed from the roster of listed companies on June 11, as it has been non-compliant with the MPO rule of 10% since December 2018.
MRP’s public float dropped to 2.06% after its largest shareholder, MCO (Philippines) Investments Limited (MCO Investments), conducted a tender offer to minority stockholders late last year. Trading of shares in MRP has been suspended since, in order to give the company time to increase its public ownership.
The company earlier tried to exit the PSE through voluntary delisting, citing its inability to raise funds through share issuances despite efforts to maintain its listed status. Its mandatory tender offer price of P7.25 each at the time, however, was met with opposition from market participants questioning the low valuation.
MRP then withdrew its voluntary delisting plan, but MCO Investments went ahead with its no longer mandatory tender offer. This led to the drop in public ownership. — Arra B. Francia
