Sinarmas Land loses free float; trading to be suspended

[SINGAPORE] Shares of Sinarmas Land that are held by the public no longer make up 10 per cent of shares outstanding, following a privatisation offer by Lyon Investments receiving valid acceptances that will bring its ownership to 92.3 per cent of shares.

Due to the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) requirement for companies to ensure that at least 10 per cent of their total shares outstanding to be held in public hands, known as the free float requirement, Sinarmas Land’s shares may be suspended by the exchange, the company announced on Wednesday (Apr 23).

The offer, made by the Widjaja family-controlled Lyon Investments on Mar 27, sought to purchase shares of Sinarmas Land it does not own at S$0.31 apiece.

Already owning 70.3 per cent of the property development company’s shares, the offeror has received valid acceptances of about 22 per cent of total shares, the company said in the bourse filing. This brings shares owned, controlled or agreed to be acquired by the offeror to 92.3 per cent, the company said.

Lyon Investments counts as its sole director Margaretha Natalia Widjaja, who is also an executive director of Sinarmas Land. The company is owned by a trust linked to the Widjaja family, who operates the conglomerate Sinar Mas.

Explaining its move to delist Sinarmas Land from the SGX mainboard, the offeror had previously said that trading liquidity of the shares on the bourse in the past year has generally been thin, and that the offer allows shareholders to “realise a clean cash exit at a premium”.

BT in your inbox

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign Up

Sign Up

Following the announcement of the offer, the company’s shares soared 23.6 per cent or S$0.065 to S$0.34 the following day on Mar 28.

The offer price of S$0.31 represents a 12.7 per cent premium over Sinarmas Land’s last traded price of S$0.275 on Mar 24, prior to the announcement.

It also represents a premium of about 17.1, 5.6 and 14.6 per cent over the volume-weighted average price of the shares over the last one, three and 12-month periods, respectively.

SEE ALSO

Sinarmas Land’s H2 net profit drops 5.5% to S$154 million on lower revenue, higher costs

Sinarmas Land minorities should be incensed by lowball offer from its controlling shareholder

However, the offer price is at a 73.9 per cent discount to Sinarmas Land’s net asset value of S$1.19 per share as at Jun 30, 2024.

Lyon Investments has said that it does not intend to take steps to restore the free float, or for the trading suspension to be lifted. The company noted that the offer will remain open for acceptance until May 14.

The counter closed flat on Wednesday at S$0.325.