Philippine casino operator Hann Holdings Inc. has postponed its initial public offering that was supposed to take place next month, according to its Chief Executive Officer Dae Sik Han.
Hann was planning to raise up to P11.8 billion ($207 million) by selling 500 million common shares at a maximum price of P23.60 apiece. There is an option to sell 50 million more secondary shares, the company has said in its prospectus.
The offer period had been planned for Sept. 9 to 15, with listing set for Sept. 23.
The deferment was due to prevailing market conditions and sentiment, according to people familiar with the matter. Hann still intends to do an IPO when conditions are more favorable, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing information that isn鈥檛 public.
The Philippines鈥 benchmark stock index has fallen nearly 4% year-to-date, bucking the 16.3% gain of the MSCI AC Asia Pacific index.
Mr. Han affirmed that the postponement was because of existing market conditions. The company operates Hann Casino Resort located in Clark Freeport Zone, a former US military base turned business and tourism hub north of the Philippine capital.
The proceeds from the share sale were allotted for Hann Reserve, a 450-hectare luxury estate that will include an 18-hole golf course, international鈥 hotel brands and luxury villas.
Given the current market, a postponement of the IPO 鈥渟eems the best option for Hann,鈥 said Alfred Benjamin Garcia, research head at AP Securities. 鈥淚 can only assume that the bookbuilding is not going well and there鈥檚 not enough demand to get them the valuation they want.鈥
Hann isn鈥檛 the only Philippine company to push back its IPO timetable this year. Utility firm Maynilad Water Services Inc. has also moved its IPO to October from July to accommodate potential cornerstone investors.
The Philippines has only seen one IPO so far this year, that of fuel trader Top Line Business Development Corp. which raised the equivalent of around $13 million.
Brick and mortar casinos in the Philippines are facing lower revenues amid slower foreign tourist arrivals including high rollers and a boom in online gaming.
Gross gaming revenues from integrated casino resorts fell 11% to P44.1 billion in the second quarter, while those from electronic games surged 92% to P59.3 billion, data from the gaming regulator show.
But the nation has put in place some curbs on access to online gaming amid growing concerns over addiction. — Bloomberg
