DITO CME prices stock rights offer P4.88

DITO CME Holdings Corp. has set its P8-billion stock rights offer at P4.88 per share, the listed company disclosed on Friday.

The proceeds will be used to invest in the country’s third telco player, DITO Telecommunity Corp, “to support a successful commercial-roll-out and for general corporate purposes,” the company said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

DITO CME said the offer price was determined based on the volume-weighted average price (VWAP).

“As of Dec. 16, 2021, the offer price is a 16.6% discount from the closing price and a 17.5% discount from the 30-day VWAP for each of the 30 consecutive trading days immediately prior to (and including) Dec. 16, 2021 of the company’s common shares on the PSE (Philippine Stock Exhange),” it noted.

It added that as of Dec.16, the closing price and 30-day VWAP for this period are P5.85 and P5.92, respectively.

The rights offer period will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Dec. 27 and conclude at 12:00 p.m. on Jan. 18.

“The rights shares may be subscribed to by the shareholders of record of the company as of the record date on Dec. 23… on a pre-emptive rights basis,” DITO CME also said.

“The latest date that anyone can purchase common shares on the PSE in order to be considered an eligible shareholder and subscribe to rights shares is on Dec. 17,” it added.

DITO CME, which owns 54% of DITO Telecommunity, handles the investments of Dennis A. Uy’s Udenna Corp. in media, communications, entertainment, and information technology.

“Udenna will not participate in the mandatory first round of the rights offer or the second round of the rights offer to provide maximum availability of rights shares

to minority eligible shareholders,” DITO CME said.

“Nonetheless, Udenna has provided an undertaking to the sole underwriter, pursuant to which Udenna shall subscribe to all offer shares that remain unsubscribed after the institutional offer to ensure that the offer shares are fully subscribed under the same applicable terms and conditions in the rights offer, subject to the right of the company to scale down Udenna’s subscription if it will result in a violation by the company of the minimum public ownership requirement,” it added.

DITO CME has three digital companies: Unalytics, which provides managed analytics services; Acuity Global, which curates media properties across platforms and provides media planning and buying; and Luna Academy, an online education platform aimed at equipping users with future-ready skills, credentials, and certificates.

For the January-September period, DITO CME reported P327.27 million in revenues, which generated a gross profit of P287.15 million.

Operating expenses rose to P1.75 billion from P3.68 million in the same period last year, resulting in an operating loss of P1.46 billion from a loss of P3.68 million previously.

DITO CME closed 5.81% lower at P5.51 apiece on Friday. — Arjay L. Balinbin