Wheelock Properties buy-out price remains at S$2.10; offer to close on Oct 2

THE offer price for the privatisation of Wheelock Properties (Singapore) will remain at S$2.10, its Hong Kong-listed parent has said, in an announcement through DBS Bank.

As Wheelock and Company's Star Attraction unit does not intend to revise the offer price, it will not be allowed to later amend the terms of the offer, including the offer price, in any way, it said on Monday morning, citing the Singapore code on takeovers and mergers.

The offeror has also set a final closing date for the buy-out bid.

The Wheelock Properties counter jumped on July 19 on the news of the takeover bid and soon breached the offer price, with investors seemingly banking on an upward price revision by the offeror, which has not materialised. Shares hit a decade high of S$2.24 on July 23.

But the counter tumbled back down to S$2.10 after the opening bell on Monday - a fall of S$0.07, or 3.23 per cent, from its last close - as the stock shot to the top of the actives list.

Meanwhile, the close of the offer has been pushed back yet again, from Sept 28 to Oct 2, in what the offeror has designated the final closing date.

The offeror - which controlled 79.31 per cent of Wheelock Properties, including valid acceptances representing 3.1 per cent of all issued shares, as at last Friday - said that it does not intend to extend the offer beyond 5.30pm on Oct 2.

"If you wish to seize opportunities available in the market to reinvest in other stocks, or if you have other uses for the cash proceeds, this is your final chance to accept the offer," said the announcement, which also noted that any share purchases after Sept 26 will settle only after three market days.

Shareholders were pointed to the opinions of the independent directors and the independent financial adviser (IFA), PrimePartners Corporate Finance.

The IFA called the offer "fair and reasonable" in end-August, after an earlier recommendation that said the financial terms of the offer were "fair and reasonable, but not compelling, and are not prejudicial to the interests of minority shareholders".