Sembmarine-Keppel O&M merger D-day draws short sellers into the fray

THE deal between Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) to create a giant offshore and marine entity appears to have attracted the attention of short sellers.

In Sembmarine’s case, short selling – a trading strategy that bets on a stock price falling – has been far more acute in recent days. That may partly explain Monday’s sell-off in Sembmarine as its shares fell S$0.015 or 11.5 per cent to finish at S$0.116.

This follows two trading days after shareholders of the marine and offshore engineering stalwart gave the green light for Sembmarine to merge with Keppel’s offshore and marine (O&M) unit to create a powerhouse in offshore renewables and cleaner O&M solutions.