PH RESORTS Group Holdings, Inc. looks to get the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) approval for its P18.488-billion follow-on offering within the month, in order to facilitate its expansion.
“We’re waiting for PSE. Feb. 13 daw ang board (meeting) nila,” Udenna Corp. Vice-President for Finance Ignacia S. Braga told reporters on the sidelines of ISM Communications Corp.’s special stockholders’ meeting in Makati last week.
Udenna Corp. serves as the parent company of PH Resorts.
The leisure and tourism arm of Davao-based businessman Dennis A. Uy secured the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval for the follow-on offering last month. It plans to sell a total of 2.054 billion shares, consisting of 1.786 billion primary offer shares and 267.95 million shares as part of the stabilization related option, priced at up to P9 each.
The company tapped CLSA Ltd. and UBS as the international underwriters for the offer, while China Banking Corp. will act as the domestic underwriter.
PH Resorts could net P17.914 billion from the offering should it fully exercise the stabilization related option.
The funds raised will be used to fund PH Resorts’ integrated resort and casino in Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan called The Emerald. The resort will stand on a 13.5-hectare property that will house a main gaming area, non-gaming amenities, a 300-meter beachfront, fitness studio, and infinity pools.
The casino alone will have an aggregate gaming floor area of 7,585 square meters (sq.m.) during the first phase, and is set to expanded by 9,400 sq.m. in the second phase. The company also plans to develop a five-star hotel with around 1,300 rooms in the complex.
PH Resorts will also renovate The Donatela Hotel in Panglao, Bohol, a more family-oriented option near The Emerald. The company will add 28 additional villas to its existing 12 villas.
The company’s expansion plan also includes Clark Resort, a four-hectare integrated tourism resort complex in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga. It includes a 7,500 sq.m. casino, a retail outlet mall, and facilities for meetings, conventions, and exhibitions.
Formerly called Philippine H2O Ventures Corp. (H2O), PH Resorts entered the stock exchange in 2018, after H2O’s parent Jolliville Holdings Corp. executed a sale and purchase agreement to transfer its interest in the firm to Udenna Development Corp. or to any of its assignees.
The company’s name was change to PH Resorts in June 2018, alongside the change in its primary purpose to engage in the hotel, gaming and entertainment business. It now serves as the holding firm for the Udenna group’s tourism-related businesses. — Arra B. Francia
