Melco Resorts & Entertainment has launched its long-awaited initial public offering of shares in Studio City International Holdings Limited, the operating company of its Studio City integrated resort in Macau.
In a filing with the SEC late Tuesday local time, Melco revealed that its IPO comprises 28,750,000 American Depositary Shares, with each ADS representing four Class A ordinary shares of Studio City. Studio City has also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 4,312,500 ADSs with a price range for the offering estimated to be between US$10.50 and US$12.50 per ADS,” the company said.
Melco plans to use the proceeds of the offering to acquire newly-issued shares of its Macau subsidiary MSC Cotai Limited, which in turn will use the proceeds it receives for the repayment debt.
While Melco hasn’t fully outlined the reasons behind its IPO, it has been speculated that the company is looking to raise funds for the development of Studio City Phase 2.
In February, Melco was granted an extension of Studio City’s development period by the Macau government through until 24 July 2021.