Closing date for Lian Beng privatisation offer extended

THE closing date for the offer to take Lian Beng private has been extended to Jun 9, 2023. It was initially due to close at 5.30 pm on Friday (May 26).

The extension comes as the total number of shares held by offeror OSC Capital, its concert parties and valid acceptances reached 81.11 per cent of the total number of issued shares of the construction and engineering company.

OSC Capital, the investment vehicle of the company’s controlling Ong family, will need this number to cross the 90 per cent threshold in order to acquire the rest of Lian Beng. The holding company is 51 per cent owned by Ong Pang Aik, Lian Beng’s chairman.

In May, OSC Capital made a final offer consideration of S$0.68 per share, with no plans for revision. The S$0.68 per share offer was 9.7 per cent higher than the initial offer of S$0.62, which was less than half the group’s net asset value per share of S$1.54 as at end-November last year.

The final offer came after the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), or Sias, said the initial bid of S$0.62 per share did not appear to be “fair or reasonable” and called for OSC Capital to table a higher offer.

Lian Beng’s shares were trading flat S$0.68 as at 2.56 pm on Friday.