Posted on May
24, 2013 07:42:07 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
ALLIANCE
GLOBAL Group, Inc. has moved to hike its stake in Megaworld Corp. at a premium
to boost the developer’s stock price, Alliance Global said in a disclosure on
Friday.
“The board of
directors of Alliance Global Group authorized the subscription by the company
to 2.5 billion common shares of Megaworld to be issued from a proposed
P10-billion increase in Megaworld’s capital stock,” the company said.
The shares
will be bought at P4.29 per share or P10.725 billion in total. The purchase
price is a 5% premium over Megaworld’s 30-day volume weighted average price,
Alliance Global said.
A quarter of
the subscription price shall be paid during the signing of the subscription
agreement, while the balance shall be paid upon the approval of the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
“Alliance
Global sees Megaworld stock as undervalued and remains confident that the real
estate market will continue to expand due to strong demand fuelled by a robust
Philippine economy,” the firm said.
As of
end-March, Alliance Global owns 11.59 billion shares or 39.53% of Megaworld’s
29.32-billion listed common shares.
Alliance
Global’s ownership in Megaworld after the transaction was not immediately
available.
Megaworld has
programed P35-billion capital expenditure this year, higher than P25 billion in
2012, amid a bullish outlook on the property industry.
The company’s
net profit stood at P1.82 billion in the first quarter, up by 15.19% from P1.58
billion in the same period last year.
Revenues were
up by 16.43% to P8.15 billion from P7.00 billion in the same comparative
period.
Cost and
expenses increased by 18.96% to P6.33 billion from P5.32 billion year-on-year.
Shares of
Megaworld climbed by six centavos or 1.51% to P4.04 apiece on Friday. -- Cliff
Harvey C. Venzon
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