Business World

Razon sells 3.18% stake in Bloomberry for P3.8B

- Francia Arra B.

GAMING TYCOON Enrique K. Razon, Jr. has sold 350 million shares in Bloomberry Resorts Corp. (Bloomberry) by way of overnight placement, effectivel­y trimming his stake in the operator of Solaire Resort & Casino by 3.18%.

In a statement on Tuesday, Bloomberry said Mr. Razon’s holding firm Prime Metroline Holdings, Inc. ( PMHI) sold the shares at P10.85 apiece or a total of around P3.8 billion. The price was based on the stock’s volume weighted average price on Monday, sold at an 8% discount to institutio­nal investors.

This brought down PMHI’s stake in the company to 65.58%, still making it the biggest shareholde­r in Bloomberry.

“I am very confident of the prospects for Bloomberry. I believe that the increased liquidity in the stock will be beneficial for investors and the Company,” Mr. Razon, who is chairman of Bloomberry, was quoted as saying in a statement.

Bloomberry engaged Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte. As the sole placement agent for the transactio­n.

Bloomberry’s subsidiari­es include Sureste and its wholly owned subsidiary Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels, Inc., Solaire Korea Co. Ltd., and its subsidiari­es Golden & Luxury Co., Ltd., and Muui Agricultur­al Corp.

The company is present in China, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan through marketing efforts. Its marketing offices are located across Asia and Australia.

The Solaire operator booked a net income of P1.96 billion for the April to June period, 47% higher than the P1.33 billion it realized in the same period in 2017. Revenues jumped 17.5% to P9.8 billion following record figures from both Solaire and Jeju Sun Hotel and Casino.

Including first quarter results, Bloomberry posted P4.11 billion in earnings, while revenues stood at P18.46 billion, higher by 24% and 31%, respective­ly.

Shares in Bloomberry closed at P11.9 apiece on Monday. The Philippine Stock Exchange was closed on Tuesday after the suspension of clearing and settlement operations in the Philippine banking system due to heavy flooding in parts of Metro Manila. —

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