Gaming solutions provider DFNN Inc. said Thursday unit iWave Inc. plans to conduct an initial public offering in the Singapore Stock Exchange.
DFNN said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that iWave decided to conduct the IPO instead of a backdoor listing because of operational challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This listing route is expected to give the company wider latitude in managing the various listing requirements, requiring the cooperation of multi-country third parties, while coping with the challenges posed by the pandemic in the country especially with the announcement of COVID-19 cases crossing the one million mark as announced by the government today,” DFNN said.
“We are cognizant that health and safety is everyone’s primary consideration as the third parties we need to engage with are also subject to movement restrictions. This situation is a force majeure that resulted to delays in our dealings with these third parties, some of which are domestic and some abroad, in Singapore and the United States, both with their own officially announced mandated travel restrictions,” it said.
DFNN said iWave is a leading financial technology company engaged in systems integration, software and technology development. The company is 49.36-percent owned by DFNN.
Last August, iWave said it would acquire the listing status of China Sky Chemical Fiber Co. Ltd. in the Singapore Stock Exchange. iWave then signed a binding agreement with China Sky to transfer the latter’s listed status to the former for 4.45 million Singaporean dollars or $3.2 million.
DFNN is a leading information technology solutions provider and systems integrator, enabling clients to compete in an increasingly technology-dependent environment.
Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, DFNN has licenses for electronic gaming machines, a sports betting exchange and digit and pari-mutuel games with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
The share of DFNN rose 2 percent Thursday to close at P4.08.