IPVG spins off assets into private company

MANILA, Philippines - Listed technology firm IPVG Corp. is spinning off its assets into a new private company to increase the value of both parent and subsidiary companies and allow the group to raise capital.

In a briefing late Friday, IPVG chief executive officer Enrique Y. Gonzalez said shareholders, representing more than 67 percent of IPVG approved the transfer of all assets and liabilities to a new private corporation which will have the same ownership structure as that of IPVG.

Shareholders will own shares in both the parent and the subsidiary.

Gonzalez said the motivation for spinning of a company is to attract new investors and improve the parent company’s value.

At present, IPVG’s current share price is not reflective of the underlying values of the company. The stock closed unchanged Friday at P1.26 each share.

“By replicating IPVG under a private scheme, we can properly value based on net asset value (NAV) method and we can tap private equity,” Gonzalez said.

“I think we have a very bright future ahead of us. The new plan will position us better to fully unlock and realize our true values at the holding company level,” he added.

Gonzalez said the group’s goal is to take all its subsidiaries public. In the pipeline is its online gaming unit IP E-Games’ initial public offering.

When asked what would happen to IPVG, Gonzalez said the company would remain listed on the local bourse and that it was exploring possible investment opportunities which he refused to divulge.

“Our Group has evolved much over the years. In the beginning, we incubated all these start-up businesses under IPVG. It made sense to bulk-up and raise money at the parent level during those early years. Now that we have grown into a full-blown tech conglomerate, our subsidiaries are either public or on the way to going public. Our philosophy has changed. We are now focused on taking the operating companies public. This changes the role of the parent or investment holding company quite a bit, hence the new plan,” Gonzalez said.