Sembcorp Industries drops plan to sell its waste-management business
Janice Lim
ENERGY company Sembcorp Industries has decided not to sell its waste-management business and its energy-from-waste plant, it announced in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Jul 25).
It had opened talks on divesting from SembWaste and the plant, but that process has now been terminated.
Sembcorp Industries had confirmed on Jun 5 that it was exploring a potential sale of these assets about a month after Reuters reported that United States private-equity group KKR and Australia’s Macquarie Asset Management were among potential bidders for them.
Shares of the company hit an eight-year high of S$4.73 the day after the Reuters report in May, though it eventually traded lower; it closed at S$4.66 after the group said in a May 10 bourse filing that there was no definitive deal to sell its waste-management unit.
Shares closed 2.9 per cent higher at S$5.34 after its Jun 5 filing confirming the report and announcing that discussions had begun. Sembcorp said that day that the potential sale of SembWaste and the energy-from-waste plant was part of “ongoing strategic initiatives to maximise shareholder value”.
HSBC was the appointed financial adviser for the potential sale, and preliminary discussions with selected parties had begun.
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With the potential divestment terminated, Sembcorp said in its Tuesday bourse filing that it will continue to review its portfolio to ensure strategic fit and maximise shareholder value.
Shares of Sembcorp Industries closed flat on Tuesday at S$5.65.
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