Lian Beng makes final offer of S$0.68 per share in privatisation bid

LIAN Beng Group ’s controlling Ong family, through its investment holding company OSC Capital, has made a final offer consideration to take the company private at S$0.68 per share. 

OSC Capital does not intend to revise its final offer, it said on Wednesday (May 3).  The holding company is 51 per cent owned by Ong Pang Aik, who is also the chairperson of Lian Beng.

This came after OSC Capital made a privatisation offer of S$0.62 per share in April, which was less than half the group’s net asset value of S$1.54 per share as at the end of November last year. 

David Gerald, president and chief executive of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), previously said that the bid of S$0.62 per share did not appear to be “fair or reasonable”, and called on the offeror to table a higher offer.

The offer of S$0.68 per share represents an increase of S$0.06 or approximately 9.7 per cent from the initial offer. 

It also translates to a 19.3 per cent premium over the last transacted price per share of S$0.57 as quoted on the Singapore Exchange on the last trading day prior to the offer announcement date on Apr 6. 

SEE ALSO

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Minority shareholders should hold out against Lian Beng’s lowball offer

Ong family not bound by 12-month rule that bars another offer if current attempt fails, says Lian Beng

Shareholders who have earlier accepted the voluntary unconditional cash offer are entitled to the final offer consideration. The closing time and date of the offer has been set at 5.30pm on May 26. 

In an update on the same day via another bourse filing, Lian Beng said it has received valid acceptances amounting to 67,600 shares as at 6 pm. This represents about 0.01 per cent of the total number of issued shares.

Shares of Lian Beng were trading down S$0.01 or 1.5 per cent at S$0.65, before the group requested for a trading halt at 2.15pm on Wednesday.