Gregorio Araneta Inc. will exit gaming firm PhilWeb Corp. as Nexora Holdings Inc. and Velora Holdings Inc. will purchase its shares at a huge discount.
In its disclosure, the company said it will sell all of its 57-percent stake in Philweb to the two firms for P1.8 billion.
Gregorio Ma. Araneta III is the current CEO of PhilWeb.
The deal would include 829.57 million common shares which will be sold for P2.17 apiece, or a discount of 46 percent from its Thursday’s closing price of P4.06.
Araneta’s shares were purchased from the late Roberto Ongpin.
As the acquisition involves control of more than 35 percent of the outstanding voting shares of PhilWeb, the buyers are expected to conduct a mandatory tender offer for all other shares that it do not own.
‘The buyers are expected to comply with this requirement within the period prescribed by law,’ the disclosure read.
Nexora and Velora are domestic holding companies duly organized and existing under Philippine law, established to acquire, hold, own, dispose of, exchange, or otherwise invest in securities, properties and related assets, with full rights of ownership, including voting rights.
‘None of the buyers is engaged in securities brokering, portfolio management for third-party clients, public solicitation of investments, or the issuance of investment contracts.’
PhilWeb’s current president and director, Edgar Brian K. Ng, is also the current president, chairman and director of Nexora, while PhilWeb Vice Chairman and Director Crisanto Roy B. Alcid is also a director and the treasurer of Nexora.
Certain of PhilWeb’s incumbent directors, meanwhile, will have to resign and be replaced by nominees of the buyer, subject to qualifications and compliance with the applicable law.
Completion of the transaction may result in an increase in the corporation’s foreign ownership levels to 40 percent from the current 4.9 percent.
‘As the corporation does not own land or is not engaged in a nationalized activity, any such increase will not impact Philweb’s compliance with foreign capital ownership limitations under applicable law,’ the company said.
PhilWeb has a license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to launch e-Games Stations, which are Internet cafes exclusively dedicated to casino games. With technology provided by the company, patrons can choose from more than 300 casino games, including baccarat, blackjack, various slot machine games, video poker and sports betting.
There are currently 288 operating e-Games cafes across the country, majority of which are owned and operated by independent operators.
Its units include BigGame Inc., PhilWeb Capital Corp., Easy e-Bingo Inc., NDM Entities, UMIAC Inc. and XO Corp.