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PRIVATE
foreign investors have taken interest in a gaming
affiliate of a listed technology firm.
American, European and Japanese investors have been
buying shares in the Singapore-based Pacific Gaming
Investments, Ltd., a subsidiary of listed Diversified
Financial Network Inc. (DFNN).
The
company told the stock exchange that Pacific Gaming “has
received the initial amount of $700,000 as subscriptions
of private investors at a premoney enterprise valuation
of $80 million.” Premoney valuation is the value of the
company prior to funding.
Ramon
Garcia, chief executive of DFNN, told the BusinessMirror
the initial investments translate to ownership of less
than 1 percent in Pacific Gaming.
“Our
plan is to sell 20 percent of Pacific Gaming to private
investors prior to its planned public offering next
year,” he said in a phone interview. DFNN currently owns
85 percent of the unit. The plan is to list and trade
the shares of Pacific Gaming at the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange.
After
the initial public offering (IPO), he said Pacific
Gaming’s market capitalization is targeted to grow to
$400 million.
The
company’s investments include the Interactive
Entertainment Technology Solutions, a Southeast Asian
gaming firm which is engaged in event, sports and
financial spread bettings.
It is
also conducting due diligence on a number of cashflow-positive
and operational slot-machine arcades in Cambodia and the
Philippines with the end goal of acquiring these
arcades.
Earlier,
another DFNN unit, Intelligent Wave Philippines Inc. (IWPI),
said it plans to generate up to $2 million (roughly P90
million) via the sale of shares to a strategic investor.
Garcia
said the sale may happen before the company’s planned
public offering slated in the second quarter of 2009.
He said
DFNN would like to keep a majority stake in IWPI after
the sale to private investor and the IPO. Despite the
prevailing weakness in the market, Garcia expects
“volatility to be over next year.”
In the
first quarter, IWPI increased its authorized capital
stock from P22 million to P100 million through a rights
offer.
The
rights offer or the sale of common stock to existing
investors at a discount, involved at least 19.5 million
of new unissued shares. The increase was made as a
prelude to its planned IPO.
The
proceeds from the public sale will fund the expansion of
IWPI’s services allowing it to fully tap the large
Japanese business process outsourcing business
opportunities that would be created under the
Philippine-Japan Free Trade Agreement.
At
present, IWPI is engaged in the business of providing IT
business solutions to domestic and Japanese banks and
other financial institutions on an outsourced basis. It
focuses on On-Line Transaction Processing and other
business applications. |
