Vantage stocks resume trading with flourish

Vantage Equities resumed trading yesterday and was the most active stock at the Philippine Stock Exchange following a one-day trading freeze on news of its acquisition of several information technology (IT) companies and the entry of institutional investors led by the SM Group.

The price of Vantage shares went up nearly nine percent to close 25 centavos higher at P3.1. The stock alone accounted for 22.76 percent of the total value turnover of P2.05 billion.

The Internet craze also rubbed off on other stocks such as PhilWeb, which surged 14.6 percent to end at 47 centavos on total value turnover of P375.9 million, making it the second most active stock during the day.

The companies bought into by Vantage -- WS Computer Publishing Corp., Nexus Technologies, Jupiter Systems and WordText Systems -- all furnished the Exchange with their respective financial statements, one of the preconditions set by listing rules before a listed company buying into unlisted firms resumes trading.

Jupiter Systems, a systems solutions specialist catering to manufacturing and distribution companies, posted net income of P23.79 million in 1998, on assets worth a total P5.9 million. Nexus, another systems integrator and services firms, had net profit of P4.142 million and total assets of P133.197 million in 1998.

WS Computer Publishing, the country's largest publisher of IT periodicals such as Computerworld, PCWorld, Click!, Channel World, The Web and IT Resource, as well as managing the country's leading search engine Yehey! Reported P30.868 million in total assets. Computer and peripheral distributor WordText, meanwhile, had P97.374 million in assets and earned P1.16 million in 1998.

Under a cash and share swap agreement, Vantage will take in 47-percent interest in WS Computer Publishing, 20 percent in Nexus and 30 percent each in WordText and Jupiter Systems.

The company will be issuing 380 million shares, to be taken from the increase in its capital stock, valued at the average closing price of Vantage stocks for the last 30 trading days ending last Friday to accommodate the purchases.

Vantage will be jacking up its authorized capital base by P2.6 billion, to reach P5 billion. Aside from the acquisitions and a 25-percent stock dividend, the increase will be filled in by the subscription of 650 million shares at the same issue price as the purchases under private placement deals with Hans Sy of the SM Group and Jacinto Ng, chairman of Asia United Bank. -- Conrado Diaz Jr.