Philippine H20 Ventures Corp, the company set to become a holding entity for the tourism and casino-related business of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp, has announced the acquisition of Udenna’s travel arm, PH Travel and Leisure Corp in order to boost the company’s value.
In a filing to the Philippines Stock Exchange, H20 said it had reached an agreement with its parent company to acquire PH Travel in exchange for 4,143,648,309 shares in the company and cash, representing a total acquisition price of Php4.55 billion.
The acquisition is the latest in a series of complicated dealings over the past week that began when Udenna spent Php33.9 million to assume a majority 62% stake in H20. Days later, Uy was elected H20’s new Chairman at the company’s annual general meeting upon which time it was proposed to change the name of the company to PH Resorts Inc.
Under its new name, H20 will become the holding entity for Udenna’s tourism and casino projects including the US$341 million Emerald Resort and Casino in Mactan, Cebu, which broke ground in December. Udenna is also looking to invest another US$200 million into a casino resort at Clark Global City in the Clark Freeport Zone.
This latest transfer of shares sees PH Travel become a wholly-owned subsidiary of H20 under the PH Resorts name, with H20 stating that, “This transaction will give value to the company as it will become a holding company for the tourism-related businesses of the Udenna Group.”
Explaining the company’s moves earlier this week, Uy said, “As we foray deeper into the tourism sector, we hope to usher in a new era of growth for our shareholders. At the same time, we look forward to supporting the development of the tourism sector, which serves as one of our economy’s growth pillars.
“PH Resorts will allow the Udenna Group to take advantage of the many opportunities in the tourism sector; create stronger synergies among our existing businesses and make more meaningful contributions to the Philippine economy.”
H20 stakeholders also approved this week the increase in authorized capital stock in the company from Php500 billion to Php800 billion, comprising 8 million common shares with a par value of Php1.00.
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