Mandarin Oriental rights 98.42% accepted, trading starts today

HOTEL group Mandarin Oriental's one for four rights issue of 251 million new ordinary shares at US$1.26 each received valid acceptances representing 98.42 per cent of the total number of new shares.

The new shares will start trading on Wednesday.

Parent Jardine Strategic will buy the remaining 3.95 million new shares for which valid acceptances were not received at a price of US$1.60 a share, the closing price on Tuesday.

Mandarin Oriental was up three US cents or 1.9 per cent to US$1.60 on Tuesday.

It announced its rights issue on March 5, aiming to raise US$316 million to reduce debt levels and finance the renovation of Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London.