GIC sells entire 3.4% stake in dental equipment maker Straumann

SINGAPORE sovereign wealth fund GIC has fully divested its 3.4 per cent stake in dental equipment maker Straumann Holding for about 292 million Swiss francs, or 541 Swiss francs per share, through an accelerated bookbuilding offering.

GIC first became a major shareholder of Straumann in 2012, acquiring a 10 per cent stake when the share price was about 108 Swiss francs. GIC reduced its holdings, from 14 per cent to less than 5 per cent, in 2016 when the stock was trading at about 395 Swiss francs. On Wednesday, Straumann stock closed at 551.5 Swiss francs before GIC's block sale.

Although GIC's final sale was a discount of about 2 per cent to market, the fund is likely to have made north of 600 million Swiss francs, given that its holdings in 2012 was worth about 150 million Swiss francs.

This is GIC's second block sale in as many days. On Tuesday, the fund, which manages Singapore's reserves, sold a 2.4 per cent stake in UBS Group for an undisclosed loss.