Stocks to watch: Silverlake, Perennial Real Estate, Oxley, Oil & Gas

Silverlake Axis: Silverlake on Thursday revealed that it has formed a company, Silverlake HGH, to launch a takeover offer for Finzsoft Solutions - an Auckland-based financial technology company that develops and implements software and solutions for banks and financial institution s in New Zealand and Australia - at a price of NZ$3 per share. The acquisition will allow Silverlake to expand its existing portfolio of software solutions and deliver new collaborative digital economy offerings throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Perennial Real Estate Holdings: Perennial Real Estate revealed on Thursday that it has completed the purchase of 90.64 per cent of the issued units of Perennial China Retail Trust (PCRT). Once the transaction is completed, PCRT will have less than 10 per cent of its units in free float, it will have to suspend trading of its units with effect from Dec 23 in line with SGX rules.

Oxley Holdings: Oxley announced on Wednesday that it has emerged as the preferred bidder of a 2.35 hectare commercial site in Dublin. Should Oxley win the tender, it will proceed to acquire a long leasehold interest with the right to develop, manage and realise the site. The proposed development is expected to make a major contribution to addressing the shortage of high-quality Grade A office space in Dublin central business area. The group also announced on Wednesday that it has completed the acquisition of Chiba Port Square, a mixed development located in Greater Tokyo - marking its first investment in Japan - at the purchase price of 3.55 billion yen (S$39 million).

Oil & Gas: Stocks in the sector, particularly Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine, bounced back on Wednesday attributed to short-covering ahead of a likely bounce in Western markets in anticipation of the Fed's signalling on Wednesday to raise interest rates. Sembcorp Marine led the way with a S$0.27 or 9.3 per cent surge to S$3.16 that came with 11.5 million shares traded, while Keppel's S$0.24 rise to S$8.22 was with 13.7 million done. There were also modest recoveries for other counters that have been battered by declining oil prices, including Ezra, Ezion and Nam Cheong.