Sim Lian founder leads offer to take developer private

Singapore

A CONSORTIUM led by the founder of Sim Lian Group (SLG) is seeking to take the property developer private.

In a release to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Monday night, Coronation 3G said it is making a voluntary conditional cash offer of S$1.08 per share for all the outstanding shares in SLG that it doesn't already own or has agreed to acquire.

It has secured irrevocable undertakings representing 80.36 per cent of the total number of issued shares in SLG from Sim Lian Holdings and a number of individuals from the Kuik family.

The offer price, which is final, represents a premium of 14.9 per cent over the last traded price of S$0.94 per share on Aug 4.

Coronation 3G is a Singapore-incorporated investment holding company owned by the Kuik family and led by Kuik Ah Han, founder and executive chairman of SLG.

"Coronation 3G believes that the offer presents SLG shareholders with a compelling cash exit opportunity given the illiquidity of its shares," it said, pointing out that the shares have not traded at or above the offer price since its listing in 2000.

It also said that the trading volume of the shares has been generally low, and that SLG has not raised any equity capital through SGX since 2007 and is unlikely to do so in the forseeable future. The offer is conditional on it receiving acceptances or acquiring shares representing a stake of not less than 90 per cent.

Coronation 3G also intends for SLG to continue with its existing activities and has no plans to introduce any major changes to the business, re-deploy fixed assets or discontinue the employment of any of the employees.