GGRAsia – PhilWeb seeks US$128-mln private placing for expansion

PhilWeb seeks US$128-mln private placing for expansion

Jun 01, 2016 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News, Philippines

Philippines-based PhilWeb Corp is seeking to raise at least PHP6 billion (US$128.6 million) through a private placement of shares, it confirmed in a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

PhilWeb in 2003 received a licence from the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp – also known as Pagcor – to launch a network of e-Games outlets in that country.

“The private placement will result in PhilWeb receiving cash and receivables of at least PHP6 billion. With this war chest, the company will have the ability to go on an aggressive expansion programme,” PhilWeb said in a statement, noting that the pricing of the 300 million shares would “in no case be less than PHP20.00” per unit.

It added that while the shareholders had approved the principle of the exercise, the actual pricing and payment terms still had to be confirmed by the PhilWeb board or the firm’s executive committee

The firm’s network at the end of 2015 included a total of 268 operational e-Games outlets all over the Philippines, with more than 8,800 gaming terminals, it had previously said in a press release.

The Internet cafés are dedicated to casino games, including digital versions of popular games such as baccarat, blackjack or various slot machine titles.

PhilWeb recorded a 1.8 percent revenue increase in 2015, to PHP1.67 billion, despite “increased competition from other forms of gaming operations”, including from land-based casinos, the firm said in a press statement in March.