CMA CGM buys out Temasek's NOL stake

Singapore

TEMASEK Holdings has tendered all shares in Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) to French carrier CMA CGM, taking NOL closer to the targeted delisting from the Singapore stock exchange later this year.

CMA CGM said that as at Friday morning, it owned 78.07 per cent of all NOL shares after Temasek tendered its majority stake in Singapore's largest listed shipping line by market capitalisation. The French company can proceed according to its acquisition plan, to delist NOL once it holds more than 90 per cent of shares in the Singapore listed counter.

CMA CGM has also breached the 50 per cent mark set for its voluntary general offer of NOL shares to become unconditional. This also means the acceptance condition of the takeover has been met.

The French shipping line extended NOL shareholders the cash offer price of S$1.30 per share. This is a 49 per cent premium to NOL's unaffected share price on July 16 2015 and a 33 per cent premium to NOL's three-month volume-weighted average share price prior to July 16 2015. The offer values NOL at S$3.4 billion.

NOL shareholders who have accepted the offer will be paid the offer price of S$1.30 per share within seven business days from June 9.

NOL shareholders who accept the offer after June 9 but before the closing date, now extended to July 18 2016 at 5.30pm, will also be paid S$1.30 per NOL share within seven business days after the date of the receipt of their valid acceptance.

CMA CGM has also announced a change in the composition of NOL's board. The reconstituted board of directors are Rodolphe Saadé as chairman, Nicolas Sartini, Lars Kastrup, Serge Corbel, Ziad Tabet, Mathilde Lemoine, Ng Yat Chung, Kwa Chong Seng, Quek See Tiat and Tan Puay Chiang.

The French shipping line extended the voluntary general offer to NOL's shareholders after securing regulatory clearances from China and the European Commission to proceed with the acquisition.

The merger and acquisition between the two shipping companies was touted as cementing the combined entity as a leader in transpacific trade. If the M&A exercise were to proceed as planned, NOL will be delisted later in 2016, about 35 years after it became the first wholly government-owned entity to list on the Singapore bourse.

Shares in NOL closed flat at S$1.30 on Friday.