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Thread: Kuok group seeking to take Allgreen private

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    Default Kuok group seeking to take Allgreen private

    http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...40098,00.html?

    Published May 24, 2011

    Kuok group seeking to take Allgreen private

    Offer of $1.60 a share, valuing Allgreen at $2.45 billion

    By UMA SHANKARI


    MALAYSIAN billionaire Robert Kuok has offered to buy all shares in his Singapore property arm Allgreen Properties, in a privatisation move that values the company at $2.54 billion.

    Brookvale Investments, owned by members of the Kuok group of companies, offered $1.60 for each share in Singapore-listed Allgreen, the developer said yesterday.

    This is 39 per cent above the stock's last traded price of $1.15 on Friday last week, and also around 20 per cent above Allgreen's highest traded price in the past three years. Allgreen shares were suspended from trading yesterday.

    Firms linked to the Kuok family that together hold 55.58 per cent of Allgreen have already agreed to sell their shares to Brookvale. Brookvale currently does not own any Allgreen shares, but two majority shareholders of Allgreen also own stakes in Brookvale. It is not clear how much it would cost for the Kuok group to take Allgreen private because of the complex shareholding.

    The voluntary conditional cash offer will require that Brookvale receives acceptances for at least 75 per cent of the voting rights in the company.

    The Kuok group aims to make Allgreen a wholly owned subsidiary and delist it, Brookvale said. Allgreen shares have declined 2.5 per cent so far this year.

    'The offeror believes that the privatisation of Allgreen will provide Allgreen with the necessary management flexibility to explore alternative opportunities for Allgreen's growth . . . without the attendant costs (including time and opportunity cost), regulations and regulatory restrictions and compliance issues associated with its listed status,' said Brookvale in a statement.

    Allgreen will continue its existing business activities, Brookvale said. It added that there are at present no plans to introduce any major changes to Allgreen's businesses or re-deploy its fixed assets.

    The Kuok family owns several large businesses across Asia, including Singapore-listed Wilmar International and Hong Kong-listed Kerry Properties and Shangri-La Asia.

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    http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_671929.html

    May 24, 2011

    Bid to take Allgreen private

    Kuok Group-linked Brookvale's offer values property firm at $2.54b

    By Gabriel Chen, Finance Correspondent


    ALLGREEN Properties, an established property group controlled by Malaysia's richest man Robert Kuok, is the subject of a privatisation bid that values the firm at $2.54 billion.

    In a Singapore Exchange (SGX) announcement last evening, the Kuok Group-linked firm Brookvale is offering $1.60 per Allgreen share, or 39 per cent more than Allgreen's last traded price of $1.15 on Friday.

    The offer price is also about 20 per cent above Allgreen's highest traded price in the past three years.

    The offer price in cash values Allgreen at about $2.54 billion.

    Firms linked to the Kuok family that together hold 55.58 per cent of Allgreen have already agreed to sell their shares to Brookvale.

    Brookvale believes the offer provides Allgreen shareholders with an opportunity to exit the company.

    It said it will allow shareholders to realise their investment in the shares for cash at a 'significant premium' to the market traded price over the past three years, without incurring brokerage and other trading costs.

    'The offeror intends to make Allgreen its wholly owned subsidiary. It is therefore not the intention of the offeror to preserve the listing status of Allgreen,' it said.

    Allgreen would continue its existing business activities. There are no present plans to introduce any major changes to its businesses or retrench any of Allgreen's employees.

    Nonetheless, Brookvale noted that it 'retains the flexibility at any time to consider any options or opportunities in relation to Allgreen which may present themselves'.

    It is not clear how much it would cost the Kuok Group to take Allgreen private because of the complex shareholding.

    The Kuok family owns several large businesses across Asia including Singapore-listed Wilmar International, which is the world's largest palm oil firm, and Hong Kong-listed Kerry Properties and Shangri-La Asia.

    Industry observers say the privatisation will mean another well-known property developer will no longer be traded publicly and this could be a loss to the investing community.

    This privatisation comes on the heels of a similar move last year by Hongkong Land to delist its 77.4 per cent owned unit MCL Land, another well-established property developer.

    Hongkong Land had cited MCL's small free float, low trading liquidity, and the compliance costs of maintaining a listing as being among the reasons for the move.

    Investment bankers say that with valuations easing and with funding today less tight compared with the financial crisis period, more listed companies could head for the exit.

    'There's an oppportunity to create value in an arbitrage situation, with the stock market valuing the same asset much less,' said Mr Keith Magnus, UBS' chairman and head of investment banking for Singapore and Malaysia.

    Mr Lim Jit Soon, head of equities research for Nomura in Singapore, noted: 'A lot of property companies here are trading below book value and if you give an offer that is attractive, shareholders might want to exit.'

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