Here’s an update on what has happened since my post on the subject:

1. On 19 Dec, the offer documents were despatched to shareholders
2. On 26 Dec, SC Global’s IFA, PrimePartners Corporate Finance, released a statement to offer their opinion that the offer was fair and reasonable, being 15 – 20% discount to their calculated RNAV
3. On 30 Dec, Simon Cheong released a statement that he has no intention of raising the offer. As such, the Takeover Code forbids him from subsequently changing the offer.
4. In response to an analyst’s speculation that there may be a chance for the privatisation to go through with joint privatisation of Wheelock, the Board of SC Global released a statement affirming that there are no talks with Wheelock and that the Code forbids any such transaction.

Talk about throwing a spanner in the works! Well, now we know 2 things. The first is that $1.80 is the only game in town for now with no chance of increase. The second is that the privatisation will fail, assuming that Wheelock stick to their guns.
Continue reading “SC Global Privatisation Update” →

Straying slightly away from straight property market commentary, I’d like to weigh in on Simon Cheong’s bid to take SC Global private. For those who haven’t been paying attention to the news, here are the terms of the offer:

The all-cash General Offer price is $1.80, representing:

49.4% premium to the last transacted price before the announcement; and
39.5% premium to the highest closing prices in the 12 months prior to the announcement.

Reasons given for privatisation were the usual generic few: low liquidity, no requirement for market access, management flexibility and savings on listing costs.
Continue reading “SC Global Privatisation” →