Ongpin’s PhilWeb shares back on auction

After PAGCOR rejected its donation, Roberto V. Ongpin is putting his entire holdings in PhilWeb Corp. back on the auction block.

The Philippines.- Roberto V. Ongpin is putting his entire holdings in PhilWeb Corp. back on the auction block after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s (PAGCOR) rejection.

Ongpin revealed ongoing talks with several investment banks for the divestment of his 53.76 percent stake comprising 771,651,896 shares in the listed gaming technology provider, in a letter to PhilWeb’s board of directors.

“After having resigned as chairman of PhilWeb, and after having made several offers to PAGCOR, all of which have been either rejected or ignored, it has become obvious to me that, while I remain a shareholder of PhilWeb, there is no chance that PhilWeb will be allowed any favorable reception on any proposal to PAGCOR,” explained Ongpin.

The businessman, resigned to PhilWeb on Aug. 4 to save the company from possible collateral damage from President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s tirades against him as he was singled out among the “oligarchs” that Mr. Duterte vowed to “destroy” under his administration.

However and in spite of Ongpin’s resignation, PAGCOR refused to renew its intellectual property management agreement with PhilWeb for Internet casino cafes called e-Games, which expired on Aug 10.