Gregorio Araneta Inc. (GAINC), the holding company owned by businessman Gregorio Ma. Araneta III, has agreed to sell its entire 57-percent stake in gaming technology firm PhilWeb Corp. to a consortium of buyers for P1.8 billion.
GAINC signed a share purchase agreement with Nexora Holdings Inc. and Velora Holdings Inc. for the sale of 829,574,354 common shares at P2.17 apiece, PhilWeb said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday.
Nexora Holdings has close links to PhilWeb’s current leadership. PhilWeb president and chairman Edgar Brian Ng also serves as president and chairman of Nexora, while vice chairman Crisanto Roy Alcid is a director and treasurer of the same firm. Velora Holdings has no disclosed affiliations with PhilWeb or its management.
The acquisition of the controlling stake mandates the buyers, under the Securities Regulation Code, to conduct a tender offer to acquire the remaining shares held by minority shareholders based on the same terms.
As part of the agreement, certain incumbent directors of PhilWeb are expected to resign and be replaced by nominees of the buyers, subject to compliance with regulatory requirements.
Following the acquisition, PhilWeb’s foreign ownership level will increase from 4.90 percent to 40 percent.
The company said the increase would not affect its compliance with foreign ownership restrictions, as it does not own land or operate in a nationalized industry.
The transaction will be completed upon fulfillment of standard closing conditions.
PhilWeb’s stock recently hit a 52-week high of P5.54 from a 52-week low of P1.02.
