Buyout offer for Cityneon closes with 99% shares acquired; firm to delist

THE buyout offer for Cityneon Holdings closed on Jan 9 at 5.30pm, with the total number of shares acquired by offeror West Knighton Limited - a special purpose vehicle indirectly owned by Cityneon group chief executive Ron Tan and Hong Kong entrepreneur and investor Johnson Ko Chun Shun - representing approximately 99 per cent.

Thus, West Knighton intends to exercise its right to compulsorily acquire all the shares of the dissenting shareholders at an offer price of S$1.30 per share in cash on or after Feb 5.

With the offeror acquiring more than 90 per cent of the shares, trading in Cityneon will be suspended as it no longer meets the free float requirement by the Singapore Exchange.

Cityneon said that an application will be made to the bourse for the delisting of the company and the result of the application will be announced in due course.

On Oct 29, Mr Tan, together with Mr Ko, launched a mandatory unconditional cash offer for the rest of Cityneon's shares with the purpose of delisting and taking Cityneon private. This was triggered after its acquisition of an approximately 68.95 per cent stake in Cityneon Holdings from Lucrum 1 Investment, at S$1.30 per share for S$219.3 million through West Knighton.