BreadTalk suspends trading after close of privatisation offer

Singapore

BREADTALK'S offeror will be applying to the Singapore Exchange to delist the food and beverage player.

This comes as the offer closed on Monday, with the offeror's concert parties having owned, controlled or agreed to acquire 98.03 per cent of BreadTalk shares.

BreadTalk requested a trading suspension on Tuesday morning. The mainboard-listed company lost its free float on April 4.

Offeror BTG Holding will compulsorily acquire the remaining shares at the same offer price of S$0.77 apiece.

BreadTalk founder and chairman George Quek made the offer to buy back all of the shares through BTG Holding, which he owns with his wife Katherine Lee and Minor International, a hospitality and leisure company listed in Thailand. Minor International owns 99.7 per cent of The Minor Food Group, which in turn wholly owns Primacy Investments, a substantial shareholder of BreadTalk.

Parties acting in concert with BTG Holding held a 70.58 per cent stake before the offer.

BreadTalk on April 16 said BTG Holding had amassed acceptances representing 97.77 per cent of the total number of shares in the company.

The offer was unveiled in February after the group announced it had sunk into the red for 2019. It also said it was in technical breach of financial covenants for its S$100 million notes due in 2023.

In its filing, BreadTalk said the offer was an attractive opportunity for shareholders to exit their investment in the shares at a premium.

BTG Holding said privatising BreadTalk would give the company more operational flexibility and save on listing costs since there was no need for it to tap capital markets.