Bloomberry raises US$126 mln, eyes expansion abroad

Nov 11, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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Bloomberry Resorts Corp, the operator of Solaire Resort and Casino (pictured) in the Philippines, said it raised PHP5.66 billion (US$126.1 million) from a top-up share offering on Monday night. Part of the proceeds could be used for a potential international expansion, the firm said.

The casino operator said its controlling shareholder, Prime Metroline Holdings Inc, sold 435 million shares and will subscribe to the same number of new shares. The shares were sold at PHP13 per unit, an 8.3 percent discount to Monday’s closing price.

“The conduct of an equity fundraising by way of a placing and subscription transaction allows Bloomberry to raise equity funds in a most expeditious and efficient manner,” the company said in a filing on Tuesday.

“The transaction is also intended to strengthen and broaden the capital base of Bloomberry, as well as to promote a wider dispersion of the shares to a broad spectrum of institutional investors,” it added.

An estimated amount of PHP95 million is to be used to cover placing commissions, market charges, lawyers’ fees, and other expenses related to the offer, the company said.

The firm said it intends to use the net proceeds of the subscription “for general corporate purposes including potential international expansion and repayment of debt”. Bloomberry has said previously that it is seeking new opportunities to expand in Asia, eyeing markets including Japan and South Korea.

More than 50 global and local investors bid for the shares in the latest exercise, said a source quoted by Reuters news agency. The casino operator had initially targeted to raise US$100 million, but raised the offer size given strong demand, the source added.

Bloomberry posted a profit of PHP3.3 billion for the first nine months of 2014, on gross revenue of PHP22.4 billion, up 127 percent from a year earlier.

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