Lance Gokongwei eyes up to 15% stake in PhilWeb

PhilWeb Corp. has signed a subscription agreement with businessman and JG Summit Holdings President Lance Y. Gokongwei for a P2.03-billion investment that will give him a significant stake in the company.

The company made the disclosure to the local bourse on Wednesday morning. 

Under the agreement, Gokongwei, acting in his personal capacity, will subscribe to 159.53 million common shares and 93.84 million redeemable preferred shares at P8.00 per share, for a total investment of P2.03 billion.

The shares will be issued from the additional common and redeemable preferred shares to be created under PhilWeb’s proposed increase in authorized capital stock to P3.6 billion from P2.6 billion. The transaction remains subject to approval by shareholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other regulatory authorities.

PhilWeb said the investment will support the company’s capital-raising efforts and other corporate initiatives.

Upon completion of the transaction, Gokongwei will own approximately 10 percent of PhilWeb’s outstanding common shares. If all redeemable preferred shares are converted into common shares, his stake could rise to about 15 percent. The listing of the new common shares will likewise be subject to approval by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Gregorio Araneta III, brother-in-law of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., recently sold control of PhilWeb to two firms controlled by PhilWeb President Edgar Brian L. Ng.

The Gokongwei Group’s digital gaming platform, NUSTAR Online, tapped PhilWeb for a content partnership last March, marking a strategic expansion of PhilWeb’s role within the Philippines’ regulated gaming ecosystem.