MANILA – Squidpay, a contactless payment solutions provider, is acquiring 55 percent stake in Premiere Horizon Alliance Corp (PHA) — to be used as vehicle for its prospective backdoor listing at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
PHA said in a disclosure on Wednesday that it signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Squidpay on October 29 that will allow the financial technology firm to subscribe to a total of 2.8 billion PHA shares at P0.33 apiece.
A third or P300 million of the P925 million transaction value will be settled by Squidpay in cash, while the rest will be paid via combined cash and stock infusion of Squidpay Technology Inc. (SPT) shares in a period of 2 years.
Since its announcement on October 30, the PSE halted the trading of PHA stocks at P0.355 per share.
“PHA envisions to help empower the unbanked and the general population through SPT’s electronic payment and collection system. The need to partner with the investor group is vital as it includes the necessary cash infusion and new business partnerships. Synergizing the four businesses will allow PHA to increase shareholder value further,” PHA said, citing its current mining, real estate and tourism businesses.
Amid backdoor listing moves, PHA said it will continue existing business plans for its mining, real estate and tourism units.
Squidpay, owned by startup extraordinaire Marvin Dela Cruz and his group, is a payment solutions firm providing automated and contactless fare collection system to majority of public utility vehicles (PUVs) and transport network vehicle services (TNVs) via stored value cards and mobile applications.
