Gregorio Araneta sells 57% Philweb stake for P1.8B

Gregorio Ma. Araneta III, the brother-in-law of President Marcos Jr., will make his P1.8-billion exit from PhilWeb Corp. after nearly a decade, opening up a possible backdoor listing for one of the buyers.

PhilWeb told the exchange on Thursday that Araneta’s holding firm Gregorio Araneta Inc. (GAINC) would sell its entire 57-percent stake to Nexora Holdings Inc. and Velora Holdings Inc., both domestic holding companies.

PhilWeb president and director Edgar Brian Ng is also the president, chair and a director of Nexora.

The deal involves 829.57 million common shares at P2.17 each, a 57.4-percent discount from PhilWeb’s last closing price.

The Philippine Stock Exchange suspended trading of PhilWeb’s shares for an hour on Thursday to give investors time to absorb the news.

Philweb’s white knight

Araneta’s departure from the gaming technology firm comes nearly 10 years after he bought PhilWeb from tycoon Roberto Ongpin in 2016 for P2 billion. It was after President Duterte had stripped Philweb of its license to operate e-games, citing Ongpin as an “oligarch” who must be brought down.

Selling to Araneta was seen as a way to shield Philweb from Duterte’s wrath.

Ongpin, who served as finance minister during the term of former Ferdinand Marcos Sr., died in 2023.

Araneta, husband of Mr. Marcos’ sister Irene, is primarily into real estate and energy businesses.

PhilWeb currently holds a license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to launch e-games stations, or internet cafes exclusively dedicated to casino games.

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Tender offer

Since Araneta’s deal involved more than 35 percent of PhilWeb’s outstanding voting shares, the buying companies are required to conduct a tender offer to all remaining shareholders.

Under the Securities Regulation Code, this mandatory tender offer during a change in control in a company allows an equal opportunity for all shareholders to sell their shares to the new controlling shareholder at the same price.

PhilWeb acknowledged that the tender offer could affect its public float and foreign ownership level. The latter may rise to 40 percent, but PhilWeb noted that it did not own land, therefore it would still be compliant with the law.

An analyst told the Inquirer that Araneta’s move to sell his ownership in PhilWeb could lead to the backdoor listing of one of the buying companies, although this has yet to be confirmed.