Belle starts roadshow for $200-M share sale

MANILA, Philippines - Belle Corp., the upscale property developer and leisure gaming company controlled by the SM Group, is unloading about 4 billion shares in Premier Leisure Corp. (PLC), formerly known as Sinophil Corp.

In a disclosure to the local bourse, Belle said its board of directors has approved the sale of up to 3.76 billion common shares of PLC held by the company and its subsidiaries or affiliate.

Belle earlier said the expected amount to be raised from the share sale could range anywhere from $150 million to $200 million.

Belle officials have embarked on a week-long roadshow to meet with potential investors both locally and abroad. The roadshow started yesterday and will end on Sept. 26.

PLC has likewise applied for a voluntary suspension of the trading of its securities from Sept. 19 to Sept. 29 to “avoid speculative trading thereof during the time that Belle, APC Group Inc., and their subsidiaries or affiliates are undertaking their roadshows.”

Belle said the share sale would still be subject to market conditions.

PLC earlier said it is looking to sell shares to the public to improve its liquidity, with the secondary offering involving majority stockholder Belle selling as much as 20 percent of Sinophil’s outstanding shares.

Belle owns around 90 percent of Sinophil.

Last July, stockholders approved Belle’s plan to inject into Sinophil the 100-percent ownership of Premium Leisure Amusements Inc. (PLAI) and its 34.5-percent stake in Pacific Online Systems Corp. worth P1.525 billion.

PLAI is part of the consortium that holds the license for the $1.3-billion City of Dreams Manila that will be operated by Macau-based casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. For its part, Pacific Online is the online lottery system provider of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in the Visayas and Mindanao.