Wing Tai Holdings launches S$94m takeover bid for Malaysian-listed counterpart

SINGAPORE-LISTED Wing Tai Holdings launched a RM290 million (S$94 million) takeover offer on Tuesday for its Malaysian-listed counterpart Wing Tai Malaysia Berhad (WTM) at RM1.80 cash per share.

The offer price represents some 53 per cent premium over WTM's last traded price of RM1.18 on Monday - the last full trading day prior to the serving of notice.

In an announcement shortly after both firms requested for trading halts on their respective stock exchanges, Wing Tai Holdings said the offer was not subject to any minimum level of acceptances as the joint offerors already hold over 50 per cent of the voting shares in WTM.

Wing Tai Holdings and wholly-owned Wing Tai Investment & Development (WTID) - joint offerors of the unconditional voluntary takeover bid - own a 66.13 per cent interest in WTM.

Maybank Investment Bank has been appointed as the financial adviser to the joint offerors.

As WTM's controlling shareholders, the offerors intend to take WTM private by offering minority shareholders the opportunity to exit and realise their investments for cash.

Wing Tai Holdings said the offer would allow the group to integrate its financial and operational resources which would result in cost savings and better operational efficiencies.

If the offer results in a delisting and full ownership of WTM, it would also provide greater flexibility for the company to "facilitate ease of review and execution of any restructuring plan for WTM...where necessary", it added.

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