First Sponsor unit completes acquisition of 60% stake in Guangdong land

MAINBOARD-LISTED First Sponsor's wholly-owned subsidiary, Wenjiang (BVI), has completed its acquisition of 60 per cent of the shares in Concord Focus Development, the Singapore-based property developer said on Monday night.

Concord owns a mixed-use development site in China's Guangdong province comprising three land parcels with a total site area of 36,405 square metres.

First Sponsor did not disclose the actual acquisition price.

It said on April 25 that the preliminary price was 404 million yuan (S$81.6 million) - for the entire stake in Concord - under a definitive conditional sale and purchase agreement (SPA) entered into last month.

The actual price of the 100 per cent acquisition would be an amount equal to the adjusted consolidated net asset value of Concord and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dongguan Kanghe Property Management Consulting Services, as at the date of completion of the acquisition, First Sponsor said on April 25.

Last month, Concord, three individuals who together own all of Concord's shares, and Dongguan Kanghe entered into the SPA with another First Sponsor wholly-owned subsidiary, FS Dongguan No 9 Investment Consultancy (FS No 9).

The SPA stated that 100 per cent of Concord shares will be acquired by FS No 9 and/or other parties as may be nominated by FS No 9 from the three individuals, subject to First Sponsor retaining a controlling stake in Concord after the acquisition.

First Sponsor intends to jointly develop the property for residential and commercial use together with the third-party purchaser, it said on March 4.

On Monday, First Sponsor said the remaining 40 per cent of Concord shares was acquired by Masaoka Realty Investment (HK), an unrelated third party designated to be one of the purchasers as per the SPA.

Masaoka Realty is a private investment vehicle of a high-net-worth individual, First Sponsor said without disclosing the individual's identity.

The Concord acquisition was completed on May 20, following which Concord and Dongguan Kanghe have become 60 per cent-owned subsidiaries of First Sponsor.

First Sponsor, which has development projects in China and the Netherlands, said in a March 4 filing that the Guangdong site has land use rights with expiry dates of Jan 31, 2088 for residential use and Jan 31, 2058 for commercial use.

First Sponsor shares were trading at S$1.19 as at 9.19am on Tuesday, unchanged from May 17.