Ongpin’s PhilWeb to raise P6B for aggressive expansion

MANILA, Philippines – PhilWeb Corporation, an online gaming firm controlled by former trade secretary Roberto Ongpin, plans to raise at least P6 billion via sale of treasury shares through private placement.

PhilWeb told the Philippine Stock Exchange that its shareholders unanimously approved management’s proposal to make a private placement of up to 300 million shares at a discount to market but in no case less than P20 per share.

“The private placement will result in PhilWeb receiving cash and receivables of at least P6 billion. With this war chest, the company will have the ability to go on an aggressive expansion program,” PhilWeb said.

The 300 million shares are equivalent to a stake of nearly 20% in the company.

The actual price and payment terms, however, will be subject to approval by PhilWeb’s board or executive committee.

The shares to be sold at the private placement are part of the 354.6 million shares currently in treasury which PhilWeb bought from telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) in 2013 at an average price of P11.90 or a total value of P4.2 billion. 

The current market price of PhilWeb shares as of Wednesday’s close is P23.90 per share. 

“Thus the total value of these treasury shares is more than P8.4 billion or double the acquisition cost of PhilWeb from PLDT,” PhilWeb said.

PhilWeb primarily operates e-Games stations, which are Internet cafes exclusively dedicated to casino games. 

Alphaland in talks with investors

Meanwhile, Alphaland, the property unit also owned by the Ongpin group, said the company has been approached by 3 foreign investors who expressed interest in investing in Alphaland and in listing the company in a foreign stock exchange. 

“Discussions with the 3 foreign investors are ongoing,” Alphaland said.

Alphaland added that it continues to expand its real estate projects with the recent development of the Baguio Mountain Lodges project and the Balesin Gateway project, which comprises 1,000 hectares and will include an international airport and a hotel complex in Patnanungan Island, which is only 22 nautical miles from Balesin Island. – Rappler.com