SPH appoints Evercore Asia (Singapore) as independent financial adviser for proposed privatisation deal

SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) on Wednesday announced that it had appointed Evercore Asia (Singapore) as its independent financial adviser to advise the company's independent directors on the proposed acquisition by Keppel Corporation for the purposes of making a recommendation to shareholders.

A composite document containing the advice of the financial adviser and the recommendations of the independent directors will be sent to shareholders of the company in due course.

Keppel Corp had on Monday made a privatisation offer for SPH's non-media business through a scheme of arrangement, subject to SPH shareholders first approving the latter's media restructuring plan. The deal values SPH at S$3.4 billion with Keppel's share of the deal totalling S$2.2 billion.

The scheme will require approval from both SPH and Keppel shareholders. If it goes through, SPH will be delisted and will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel. Keppel will hold stakes of about 20 per cent in both SPH Reit and Keppel Reit.

The scheme will only take effect upon a successful completion of the proposed media restructuring. SPH had in May announced a plan to transfer its media business to a company limited by guarantee (CLG).

SPH owns and publishes The Business Times, which will be part of the proposed CLG.

Shares of SPH ended Wednesday flat at S$1.92.