Sembmarine needs to offer its shareholders a grand gesture to garner support for merger

Investors may be more inclined to vote for the deal if the board of the combined entity comprises entirely new faces

Ben Paul

Published Mon, Jun 13, 2022 · 05:50 AM

IT DIDN’T take Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) long to respond to an apparent campaign by a minority shareholder named Philip Loh to scupper the company’s proposed merger with the offshore and marine (O&M) arm of Keppel Corp.

Only a day after The Business Times reported that the dissident investor had laid out several reasons on his website (www.votenoformerger.com) to oppose the “highly disadvantageous” deal, Sembmarine put out a statement reiterating that the merger is the best pathway to unlocking long-term value.

The company also said it is maintaining an open dialogue with its shareholders, and encouraged all of them to attend a dialogue session organised with the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) on Jun 20.