Melco Crown selling more shares

MANILA, Philippines - The local unit of Macau-based casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. is selling more shares following robust demand during its $377-million fundraising program last month.

In a disclosure, Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corp. said underwriter UBS AG (Hong Kong) branch will buy more shares.

“The selling shareholder has granted the stabilization agent an option exercisable to purchase up to 117.075 million common shares of the corporation to cover over-allotments,” Melco Crown said.

Prior to the transaction, UBS bought an additional 36.024 million shares of Melco Philippines.

Following a share sale, a stabilizing agent aims to support the stock price through additional shares.

In April, Melco Philippines raised $377 million after selling 1.09 billion shares at P14 each, the high end of the P11-14 price range.

The orderbook was over six times oversubscribed with 140 investors, UBS earlier said. By region, Asia took up 48 percent, the US 37 percent and Europe 15 percent.

The casino firm earlier obtained regulators’ approval to sell a maximum of one billion shares plus an over-allotment option of up to 200 million shares.

Fresh funds will finance the construction of a $1.3-billion integrated casino complex in Manila.

Melco Philippines is the operator of the 900-room Belle Grande Manila casino and resort complex being built by Belle Corp., the upscale leisure developer of Sy-led conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC).

Belle and Melco Philippines will start the casino operations in mid-2013, next to the $1.2-billion Solaire Resort and casino of port magnate Enrique Razon that opened in March.

The government is grooming Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s (Pagcor) 120-hectare Entertainment City along Manila Bay as a competitor of the Las Vegas, Singapore and Macau gaming hubs.

Belle Grande Manila will be Melco Crown’s first casino outside Macau where it operates the City of Dreams and Altira Macau casinos. The company is developing its third casino, Studio City, which is slated for opening in 2015.

The project is the first gaming venture of the Sy family, whose flagship company SMIC is involved in five core businesses – retail merchandising, mall operations, property, banking and hotel and leisure.