ENGINEERING services company Boustead Singapore : F9D 0% said it is in talks with its real estate unit Boustead Projects to come up with an exit offer that would comply with the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) directive.

Boustead Singapore was providing an update via a bourse filing on Tuesday (Oct 17) on its progress in complying with SGX’s delisting notice – a condition the regulator has set for granting an extension for the company to submit its proposal on the exit offer.

SGX had issued a directive in Sep 26 for Boustead Projects to be delisted, as the issuer has not ensured that at least 10 per cent of the total number of issued shares are held by the public.

Under SGX’s free-float requirement, an issuer must ensure that at least 10 per cent of its total number of issued shares are held by the public. 

If it is unable to do so, SGX may suspend its shares from trading, or give the issuer three months to ensure free float, and the company may be delisted.

SGX also directed Boustead Projects and/or Boustead Singapore to make an exit offer to shareholders that is “fair and reasonable”, with the proposal to be provided by the end of October, but that has been extended to Nov 14 after a 45-day extension request was granted by the regulator.

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Boustead Singapore had first announced its intention to take its real estate unit private back in February 2023, at an offer price of S$0.90 per share, which analysts flagged as below the company’s net asset value.

The offer price was subsequently raised to S$0.95 per share – an amount which still drew flak from the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) – and Boustead Singapore garnered 95.5 per cent in shareholding interest at the close of the takeover offer.

In its latest update on Tuesday, Boustead Singapore also said that it has been required by the Securities Industry Council to confirm whether it will be intending to make an offer for all the issued shared capital of Boustead Projects – excluding treasury shares and those already held by the parent company – by 5 pm on Nov 14.

Shares of Boustead Singapore closed flat at S$0.84 on Tuesday.