PhilWeb to purchase 15 Pagcor e-Games stations

“We continue to be bullish that we will be able to renew our license with PAGCOR at some time in the near future,” PhilWeb President and Corporate Information Officer Dennis O. Valdes said in a mobile phone message, when asked for the rationale of the planned acquisitions.

“We also wish to support those operators that we have worked with over the past 14 years. Some currently wish to exit the business so we are offering them an ability to exit by selling us their businesses in exchange for WEB shares,” Mr. Valdes added, referring to the

The shares earmarked for the transactions form part of the 354,621,767 shares bought back from PLDT, Inc. in 2013. Of the total, 81,380,938 shares are held by PhilWeb in treasury; 260,392,307 by PhilWeb Casino Corp.; and 12,848,522 by Pure Corporate Investments Limited.

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PhilWeb had provided the software and associated facilities for the e-Games network until Aug. 10, 2016 under an intellectual property license and management agreement (IPLMA) with PAGCOR

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The state corporation, which serves as the country’s gaming regulator, decided to end the contract after a one-month extension, following the pronouncements of President Rodrigo R. Duterte against online gambling.

Former PhilWeb Chairman Roberto V. Ongpin, however, deemed the decision of PAGCOR as consequence of the tirades he received from the president or being among the “oligarchs” that must be “destroyed.”

In this light, Mr. Ongpin resigned and divested his 53.76% stake comprising 771,651,896 shares in the gaming technology provider. Gregorio Ma. Araneta III, husband of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos’ daughter Irene, acquired the shareholding and assumed the chairmanship.

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Mr. Ongpin had described his decisions as attempts to save the business that employed around 6,000 across the 286 branches of the e-Games network

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Under the chairmanship of Mr. Araneta, the listed company submitted in October of last year an application for an omnibus IPLMA for the e-Games network that employed around 6,000 across 286 branches across the Philippines.

PAGCOR, however, had reiterated its position against the revival of the e-Games network until Mr. Duterte softened his stance on online gaming. The regulator would later inform PhilWeb it will offer the contract through a competitive bidding.

The suspension of the e-Games operation has weighed on the finances of PhilWeb. In the first nine months of 2016, its net income decreased 63% to P229.1 million from P615.7 million after revenues dropped 16% to P1.03 billion from P1.24 billion.

PhilWeb booked about P5.4 million in net loss during the third quarter of 2016 alone, when its contract with PAGCOR lapsed. In comparison, the company posted a net income of P206.0 million in the same three months in 2015.