Courting a wallflower

Nosy Tarsee dares all and sundry to guess which small resort company made everyone look twice this week as its share price jumped by almost half in one day, although nobody could say why. The company lost its casino license some time ago but still owns a beach resort and a piece of land, which may be enough for some buyers.

Years ago, this company dreamed big. It wanted to build grand casino resorts in the middle of the country and up north. When it sold new shares in 2020, it said the money would finish a huge beach casino in Cebu. At one point, each share cost more than five pesos, and investors cheered.

Then the dream got stuck. The project ran out of money, and builders and buyers came and went. A few names were whispered as rescuers, including a Cebu developer, a casino giant, and a Japanese gaming firm. Each time, hopes went up, but no deal ever crossed the finish line.

Then the bad news piled up. The company couldn’t buy back its Mactan property when the bank deal expired last year, so the building was gone. Soon after, the gaming regulator took away its casino license.

The stock exchange even moved the company from the casino group to the hotel group. Today, each share costs only a few centavos, and the company has about 11 workers.

What is left, you ask? A fancy resort on a Bohol island and a good piece of land in Davao that may become a hotel. The company says it may repurpose its assets, find partners or merge with someone because it must do something.

A little bird chirped to Nosy Tarsee that a family from a southern city is curious, while the company’s owner is willing to listen.

As far as Nosy knows, nobody has signed anything. It may have been only a chat over coffee. The talks are said to be early, which means nothing is sure and everything can change.

Why would a rich family want a tiny company? Some say it is a shortcut because getting listed the normal way takes years. Others say it is about the land, since good land is hard to find. A few whispered that the company is only the door; what matters is the room behind it.

Meanwhile, the market is closely watching the small push that sent the bourse soaring. Maybe real buyers came in because they knew something. Or maybe small traders joined in because they did not want to be left out. If so, the crowd may have made the story, and the story may have made the crowd.

Only a few people own most of the shares that can be traded, so it takes little money to move the price, which makes the timing interesting.

Clue: The business magnate behind the mystery reportedly owed a newspaper around P15 million in unpaid advertising bills accumulated over some years.