Posted on
April 01, 2013 10:01:39 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
MELCO Crown
(Philippines) Resorts Corp., the local unit of regional casino giant Melco
Crown Entertainment Ltd., is set to begin this month its roadshow to drum up
investor interest in its planned offering of up to one billion shares for
capital raising.
In a
disclosure yesterday, Melco Crown Philippines said an institutional roadshow is
“expected to start in April 2013,” ahead of a planned share placement and
subscription transaction of up to one billion company shares. This plan is
expected to boost the company’s public float level to 30.42% from a previous
10.01%.
The shares
will be priced via a bookbuilding process following the roadshow, the
disclosure added, but further details on the planned transaction were
unavailable yesterday.
Melco Crown
Philippines said the proceeds of the planned share sale will be allotted for
the consolidation of its affiliates and the construction of Belle Grande Manila
Bay, the integrated resort and casino complex of Belle Corp. which Melco Crown
Philippines will manage.
“The company
intends to use the net proceeds of the subscription to pay for part of the
acquisition cost of MCE Holdings (Philippines) Corp. and its direct and
indirect subsidiaries, and to fund work on the [Belle Grande] project…
including to pay for gaming equipment purchases, fit-out work, and other
various initial operating costs, such as pre-opening costs and working capital,
as well as for general corporate purposes,” the disclosure read.
Last month,
the board of Melco Crown Philippines approved the issuance of 2.85 billion
shares to MCE (Philippines) Investments Ltd., one of the company’s controlling
shareholders, at one peso apiece and the purchase of 147.85 million shares of
MCE Holdings -- an affiliate of MCE Investments -- from MCE Investments for
P7.20 billion.
The share
purchase would make MCE Holdings a wholly owned subsidiary of Melco Crown
Philippines, consolidating the former’s businesses under one corporate entity,
Melco Crown Philippines previously said.
Also last
month, Melco Crown Philippines affiliates MCE Holdings, MCE Holdings No. 2
(Philippines) Corp., and MCE Leisure (Philippines) Corp. finalized an operating
agreement with Sy-controlled casino developer Belle Corp. wherein MCE Leisure
will operate the $1-billion Belle Grande.
Belle is
currently devoting “significant resources” for the mid-2014 completion of Belle
Grande, which will rise on a 6.2-hectare site within the state-run
Entertainment City.
Belle Grande
is located along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue within the Bagong Nayong Pilipino
Entertainment City.
Upon completion,
the complex will feature mass market and gaming facilities, restaurants,
entertainment attractions, upscale boutique hotel facilities, as well as a
branded family entertainment center for live performances, central lounge, and
the dome-shaped Fortune Egg which will house a night club.
Melco Crown
Philippines, officially known as Manchester International Holdings Unlimited
Corp. until early this month, was formed after holding company Zuellig Group
sold Manchester shares last December to MCE Investments and MCE (Philippines)
Investments No. 2 Corp. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente
_______________________________________________________
