Bonvests sells 10% stake in Cordlife for S$43m

BONVESTS Holdings has signed an agreement to sell 10 per cent of its stake in Cordlife Group to Shanghai-listed Nanjing Xinjie Kou Department Store Co for S$43.31 million or S$1.67 a share.

The disposal by Bonvests' wholly owned Coop International will reduce its interest in the cord-blood banking firm to 1.2 per cent from 11.2 per cent, said Bonvests in an announcement to Singapore Exchange.

Under the sale and purchase agreement, 10 per cent of the consideration will be paid by Nanjing Xinjie within 10 business days and the remaining in two months from the date of agreement or no later than the first or second long stop date as set out in the agreement.

Assuming the disposal was completed end-December 2015, Bonvests' net tangible assets per share will increase from S$2.15 to S$2.17. The group's consolidated earnings per share will increase from 12.14 Singapore cents to 18.90 Singapore cents assuming the deal was completed on Jan 1, 2015, it said.

As at 12.18pm on Friday, shares of Bonvests rose one Singapore cent or 0.8 per cent to S$1.235 while Cordlife shares gained 2.5 Singapore cents or nearly 2 per cent to S$1.29.