Perennial CEO 'not disappointed' offer for UEL did not go through

Singapore

PERENNIAL Real Estate Holdings chief executive Pua Seck Guan said he is "not disappointed" that the Yanlord-Perennial consortium's offer for United Engineers (UEL) did not go through, as it was never its intent to gain full ownership of the target company to begin with.

The consortium had no choice but to make an offer; the mandatory general offer was triggered by its purchase of OCBC's approximately one-third stake in UEL in July this year.

"It was the condition for the sale. Typically, people do not want to be initiated to do a general offer because it would be a more costly exercise, so they try to buy below 30 per cent. But the seller's condition for the sale …