Albedo to buy more Iskandar land in RTO

SINGAPORE: Singapore-listed Albedo Ltd has agreed to buy an additional six parcels of land from a company majority owned by Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Danny Tan in a move that will increase the size of the reverse takeover (RTO) deal by more than twofold from S$774 million (RM1.99 billion) to S$1.86 billion.

Albedo said in a statement that the latest total purchase consideration, which is at a 16.6% discount to the aggregate market valuation of all the land parcels, includes a prime waterfront commercial site called Lido Waterfront.

Albedo, which will be transformed into a major property developer in Malaysia on completion of the RTO, first agreed to buy seven parcels of land from Tan’s Infinite Rewards Inc in September.

The additional six land parcels currently belong to Tan and his family, and will bring Albedo’s Iskandar landbank to 13 parcels of about 1,182.58 acres (478.57 ha).

The proposed acquisition, which is subject to approval by Albedo’s shareholders, will provide an opportunity for the company to venture into new business areas that have potential for growth and will likely enhance the long-term interests of shareholders.

Tan is the controlling shareholder and the group executive vice-chairman of Tropicana Corp Bhd (formerly known as Dijaya Corp Bhd), an established property developer and manager listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia. He is also executive vice-chairman of TT Resources Bhd, chairman of Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd and a director of U Mobile Sdn Bhd.

Albedo will pay for all the land parcels to be acquired by issuing new shares representing 95% of the enlarged issued capital of the company.

The completion of the RTO is conditional upon an independent valuation report on all the properties, with the valuation amount not less than RM6.5 billion, including the value of the properties of Lido Waterfront.

Prior to the completion, Albedo will also effect a consolidation of its shares on the basis of every seven existing shares into one share.

Separately, Albedo is negotiating with Kawasan Mestika Sdn Bhd to acquire Kawasan’s entire issued capital which holds or will hold a 228-acre property in Pulai, north of Iskandar’s Nusajaya Development. — Bernama


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 16, 2013.