China's HNA to acquire all CWT shares from 'dissenting shareholders'

Hong Kong

CHINESE conglomerate HNA Group has exercised its legal rights to acquire all shares from "dissenting shareholders" of Singaporean logistics firm CWT Ltd, as it moves to close the US$1 billion acquisition.

HNA Belt and Road Investments Singapore, a HNA group company, will offer S$2.33 per share in cash to the CWT shareholders who have not accepted the tender offer, HNA's financial advisers said in an announcement on behalf of the company on Monday.

The price is the same as was offered to other CWT equity holders, valuing the deal at S$1.399 billion.

The announcement comes against a backdrop of concerns about rising financing costs at indebted HNA, an airline-to-property conglomerate, whose US$50 billion worth of deal-making over the past two years has sparked intense scrutiny.

Pressure on the group's finances has risen after the Chinese government told major banks in June to review their credit exposure to the conglomerate and a handful of other non-state companies.

HNA first announced in April its intention to buy CWT, whose businesses include logistics services, commodity marketing, financial services and engineering services and was incorporated in 1970 as a private arm of the Port of Singapore Authority.

After completion of the "compulsory acquisition" of dissenting shareholders' shares, CWT will become a wholly owned subsidiary of HNA Belt and Road Investments, according to Monday's statement. REUTERS