Tender will move forward
The majority owner of Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp., which operates the City of Dreams integrated resort in Manila’s Entertainment City, has withdrawn its petition for a voluntary delisting of the company.
However, reported GGRAsia, MCO Investments (Philippines) Ltd. still intends to move ahead with a voluntary tender offer to buy about 1.57 billion outstanding publicly held common shares in Melco Resorts Philippines. The outcome would be increase the majority owner’s stake: MCO Investments already owns nearly 73 percent; under Philippine Stock Exchange rules, the company would need to obtain at least 95 percent of outstanding stock to delist.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, the company said it would proceed with the voluntary tender “for the purpose of increasing the bidder’s shareholding interest in the issuer, instead of for the purpose of voluntary delisting of MRP.” Reuters noted that the company backed off its delisting plan because of minority shareholder opposition to the proposed price of 7.25 pesos. They said it was “unfair” and “undervalued” compared with the 14 peso price of shares Melco sold to the public in 2013.
Raymond Ricafort, spokesman for a group shareholders holding around 1 percent of Melco Philippines, wrote a letter to the PSE asking for the body to “at least investigate before they allow this tender offer and delisting to proceed.” PSE Chief Operating Officer Roel Refran told Reuters the bourse had received several letters from investors expressing concern about the price.
Evan Winkler, president and managing director at Melco International Development, defended the offer, saying, “We feel we are putting forward a full and fair value to minority shareholders.”
The company elaborated in a statement saying the tender offer “is presented to ensure that MRP shareholders who find the offer price and other terms of the tender offer acceptable are not deprived of an opportunity to sell. The bidder (MCO) would like to emphasize and remind MRP shareholders that not all MRP shareholders have to agree with and accept the terms of the tender offer. The bidder respects that certain MRP shareholders may have differing views on the terms of the tender offer” and those who think the price is too low can opt out.
In other Melco news, Studio City International Holdings Ltd., the controlling entity of the Studio City casino resort in Macau’s Cotai district rose as much as 48 percent in its trading debut on October 18 on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s stock price closed at US$15.50 per share, up 24 percent in its first trading day, GGRAsia reported.
Studio City International raised total about US$359.4 million from an initial public offering of American depositary shares. The company priced its shares at the top of the targeted range at US$12.50, the news outlet reported. The firm sold 28.75 million American depositary shares, with each ADS representing four Class A ordinary shares of the company. The ADSs began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, under the ticker MSC.
