Bloomberry sets indicative price range for equity offer

MANILA, Philippines - Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the casino concern of port magnate Enrique Razon, has set an indicative price range of P6.55 to P8.25 each share for its planned equity offering.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Bloomberry said the price for the offering and the issue have yet to be determined since the roadshow and the bookbinding process are currently ongoing.

The issuance of shares will be done via a top-up offering aimed at boosting the company’s public ownership, which currently stands at 8.82 percent.

The PSE has required all listed corporations to comply with the minimum public float of 10 percent by the end of the year or they face suspension beginning January 2013.

Under the plan, Razon’s Prime Metroline Transit Corp. will subscribe to new shares in the company coming from the authorized but unissued shares of stock. 

The shares shall be equal to the aggregate number of offer shares to be sold by Prime Metroline in the placing transaction.

CLSA Ltd. and UBS AG were tapped as joint global coordinator, joint bookrunner and joint lead managers for the placing transaction.

Bloomberry closed at P11.60 each share yesterday.

The top-up offering is similar to the strategy adopted by many other publicly-listed companies intending to take a faster route to the expansion of public ownership, avoiding tedious registration process if new shares were to be offered directly to the public.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund the company’s $1.2-billion resort and gaming complex, which is targeted for a grand opening in the first quarter of 2013.

Construction of the first phase of Solaire Manila, the first casino complex to rise in Pagcor’s Entertainment City, is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of the year.

Phase 1 of the project, estimated to cost $650 million, covers 180,000 square meters of floor area, which includes a hotel tower, three levels of podium that has the ballroom/convention facilities, gaming areas, restaurants, retail shops, and health and wellness facilities. A 10-story parking building shall also be constructed.