ARA seeks extension of trading halt to release announcement on Wednesday

ARA Asset Management Ltd has requested an extension of its trading halt pending the release of a material announcement.

This announcement is expected to be released before market re-opens on Wednesday, it said.

ARA had at 4.31pm on Nov 3 requested a trading halt on its shares, pending the release of an announcement. Under Singapore Exchange rules, a trading halt cannot exceed three market days.

The group founder and CEO John Lim is said to be leading a consortium of shareholders to launch a buyout of the company, with the help of US private-equity heavyweight Warburg Pincus, according to a report by Wall Street Journal.

Collectively, Mr Lim, The Straits Trading Company and Cheung Kong Property Holdings own close to 47 per cent of ARA.

The news report sent ARA shares leaping 6 per cent to a 52-week high of S$1.495 on Thursday in active trade, before a trading halt was imposed.