http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/...lobal-20130124

Simon Cheong holds 92.46% of SC Global

Published on Jan 24, 2013

By Esther Teo, Property Reporter


SC GLOBAL chief executive Simon Cheong has lifted his stake in the luxury property developer to 92.46 per cent after more shareholders accepted his offer yesterday.

The transactions bolstered his shareholding from the 91.92 per cent he held on Tuesday.

Mr Cheong, who is also SC Global's chairman, managed to acquire enough shares of the firm to bring its free float below 10 per cent earlier this month.

This is the level at which Singapore Exchange rules deem the firm should be taken private.

Mr Cheong launched his privatisation bid last month, offering $1.80 a share, valuing the company at $745 million.

DBS Bank, on behalf of MYK Holdings - Mr Cheong's wholly owned investment holding company - said yesterday that shareholders who want to accept the offer should submit the relevant forms by next Wednesday.

This was deemed the new deadline for the offer after Mr Cheong extended the original deadline of Jan 16.

Trading of the shares will be suspended once the offer closes on Wednesday.

SC Global said in a statement on Tuesday that the firm will exercise its right under the Companies Act "to compulsorily acquire all the shares which have not then been tendered for acceptance on the same terms as those offered under the offer".

Shareholders who do not accept Mr Cheong's offer by next Wednesday will have to wait for the compulsory acquisition, which could happen more than a month after the deadline.

The tough property market cooling measures announced on Jan 11 inadvertently lent a hand to Mr Cheong's cause. Most property stocks fell after the measures were announced and it seems many SC Global investors decided to cash out.

This helped Mr Cheong mop up more shares and brought him closer to the key 90 per cent level.

Even Wheelock Properties, a big shareholder that has been against Mr Cheong's bid, eventually decided to sell its 17.93 per cent stake to him.

Wheelock had said last month that it believed Mr Cheong's offer of $1.80 a share undervalued SC Global.

When launching the privatisation bid on Dec 5, Mr Cheong said a delisting would allow SC Global greater flexibility to manage its business while relieving it of public listing costs and requirements, including quarterly reporting.

PrimePartners Corporate Finance, the independent financial adviser appointed by SC Global, recommended on Dec 26 that shareholders accept Mr Cheong's buyout offer.

PrimePartners added that SC Global's shares had not traded at or above $1.80 since Dec 1, 2010, until Mr Cheong made his offer.

[email protected]