The Philippine Stock Exchange said it will automatically delist Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp. on June 11 if the company remains non-compliant with the 10-percent minimum public ownership requirements.
“Given the foregoing, should the company remain non-compliant with the minimum public ownership requirement after the lapse of the 6-month suspension period or effective June 11, 2019, MRP shall be automatically delisted from the Official Registry of the Exchange,” said PSE president Ramon Monzon. The exchange suspended the trading of Melco’s shares in Dec. 10.
The public ownership of Melco fell to 3.9 percent in December 10 following the completion of the tender offer conducted by the company’s major shareholder, MCO (Philippines) Investments Ltd.
Melco was listed in the PSE through a backdoor listing when it acquired Manchester International Holdings Unlimited Corp. in 2012.
It operates City of Dreams Manila, an integrated casino resort on a 6.32-hectare property at the government-sponsored Entertainment City in Parañaque City.
MCO Investments originally intended to voluntarily delist Melco from the PSE in September last year, citing an inability to raise funds through the local bourse despite efforts to maintain its listed status.
But after receiving strong opposition from minority shareholders over the valuation of the tender offer, MCO Investments withdrew the petition for voluntary delisting.
However, it pushed through with the tender offer, resulting in the acquisition of an additional 1.33 million Melco common shares that were tendered by minority shareholders of Melco Resorts.
After the crossing of the tendered Shares, MCO Investments acquired, directly and indirectly, a total of 5.462 billion common shares, representing approximately 96.1 percent of the total outstanding capital stock of Melco Resorts, with the balance of 3.9 percent shareholding interest held by the public.
