Will minority owners of M&C bite?

SINGAPORE property tycoon Kwek Leng Beng has finally put to rest years of market speculation over whether City Developments (CDL), the majority owner of Millennium & Copthorne (M&C), will seek to privatise the London-listed hotel chain.

On Monday, CDL - the Singapore-listed flagship of Mr Kwek's Hong Leong Group - said it planned to buy the remaining 34.8 per cent stake in M&C for £624.3 million (S$1.1 billion), valuing the hotel group at £1.8 billion.

Minority shareholders of M&C will get 552.5 pence in cash for each share. This will be made up of 545 pence in cash, and a special dividend of 7.5 pence per share when the offer becomes wholly unconditional.