Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp., the operator of integrated resorts and casino City of Dreams Manila, is delisting its shares from the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Melco Resorts said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board approved the voluntary delisting of common shares from the main board stock exchange subject to the delisting rules of the local bourse.
Melco Resorts said it would conduct a tender offer to acquire up to 1.543 billion outstanding common shares owned by the public at a price of P7.25 per share. The price represents a 16.7-percent premium to the stock’s closing price of P6.21 per share on Friday. It rose 11.1 percent Monday to P6.90.
At P7.25 per share, Melco Resorts will need P11.18 billion to acquire all the minority shares. The company did not provide a reason for the planned delisting.
Melco Resorts said it would file other information on the tender offer, including the timetable for the tender offer and delisting, with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 17.
Melco Resorts posted a net income of P1.89 billion in the first half of the year, up 289 percent from P352.2 million year-on-year.
First-half net operating revenues amounted to P16.54 billion, slightly down from P16.67 billion in the same period in 2017, due to the adoption of new revenue standard that resulted in higher commissions paid to gambling promoters being deducted from casino revenues.
Melco Resorts, owned by Macau-based casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd., was listed in the PSE through a backdoor listing when it acquired Manchester International Holdings Unlimited Corp. in 2012.
City of Dreams Manila, which opened ion February 2, 2015, operates on a 6.32-hectare property at government-sponsored Entertainment City in Parañaque City.
Melco is the second company to apply for voluntary delisting with the PSE. Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp. also announced plans for voluntary delisting from the PSE.
The renewable energy company said it would conduct a tender offer for up to 2.040 billion common shares at P7.25 each that are held collectively by the public.