JTrust should bring its promises for LCD to pass

THOSE familiar with mergers and acquisitions here would know that the magic number has been 30 over the past decade - because any stake acquisition below 30 per cent will not trigger a mandatory takeover.

But the recent stake sale of LCD Global Investments by the Lum brothers at a shade below 30 per cent - to a Japanese finance conglomerate that is starting to wield management control at LCD - has again cast a spotlight on this 30 per cent threshold.

Under Singapore's Takeover Code, unless exempted, a shareholder and its concert parties have to make a general offer when their holdings in a company cross the 30 per cent mark. But in most cases, the largest shareholder in a company can already gain levers of control with a smaller stake than that. It is hence hardly surprising that many married deals have been cobbled at below the 30 per cent mark.