Olam Group falls 0.6% on first day of trading to close at S$1.75

SHARES of Olam Group VC2 : VC2 0% kicked off trading on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) mainboard on Wednesday (Mar 16) morning at the price of S$1.69.

This was up S$0.01 from the pre-open, but S$0.07 or 4 per cent lower than the last closing price of the counter under its previous security name Olam International, which ended its last day of trading on Mar 9 at S$1.76.

Olam Group had briefly dipped 1.8 per cent or S$0.03 to trade at S$1.66 at 9.01 am, following a series of initial sell-downs at the open. It later recovered to trade S$0.03 or 1.8 per cent higher at S$1.71, after about 838,000 of its shares changed hands as at 10.02 am.

The counter eventually ended the day at S$1.75, down S$0.01 or 0.6 per cent, with some 2.4 million shares changing hands. 

No married deals were recorded throughout the day, according to ShareInvestor. 

Olam Group carries the same market capitalisation as its predecessor at S$6.8 billion, with some 3.8 billion shares outstanding.

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It remains majority-owned by Temasek, which has a 51.1 per cent stake in the agri-business giant.

OFI and Olam Agri are set to be spun off and listed separately according to different timeframes. (see amendment note) 

Shareholders of Olam Group will receive OFI shares following the unit's initial public offering (IPO) and demerger. OFI is due for a primary listing on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange, along with a concurrent listing on the SGX by H1 FY2022.

While Olam Group will continue to hold Olam Agri and gestate its assets and businesses, it intends to seek a potential IPO and concurrent demerger from the group by H1 of 2023. Another option may include the potential introduction of strategic minority partners, via the sale of a significant minority stake in Olam Agri. (see amendment note) 

Amendment note: This article has been revised to reflect the name changes of Olam Food Ingredients and Olam Global Agri to OFI and Olam Agri, respectively. It also has been updated to reflect Olam Agri's new IPO target for H1 2023. 

READ MORE: 

• Olam posts H2 profit of S$264.9m on reorganisation-led turnaround

• Olam adds raft of banks to IPO of US$18b food unit

• Olam's demerger will enhance shareholder value, improve financial position, it tells shareholders

• Olam's reorganisation will help unlock units' full potential, says its CEO