SINGAPORE: CapitaLand Ltd yesterday said its ownership of CapitaMalls Asia Ltd had crossed the 90% threshold, meaning it could delist the shopping malls operator from the Singapore Exchange.

CapitaLand, Southeast Asia’s biggest property developer, offered in mid-April to buy out minority shareholders in its then 65%-owned CapitaMalls Asia at S$2.22 per share, a 23% premium to the last closing price of S$1.80. They later raised the offer price to S$2.35.

Now, with the threshold past, CapitaLand said it had submitted an application to the bourse for the delisting of CapitaMalls. Chief executive officer (CEO) Lim Ming Yan said the offer would allow CapitaLand to better leverage resources across the group’s businesses to maximise overall project returns.

There has been a spate of acquisitions in Singapore’s real estate sector over the past two years, as tycoons take advantage of depressed prices to delist property firms.

A consortium including Singaporean billionaire Ong Beng Seng and Wheelock Properties (Singapore) Ltd increased its offer price for a stake in Hotel Properties Ltd in early May.

CapitaMalls shares will be suspended from trading until the buyout offer expires on June 9, unless extended. — Reuters


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 6, 2014.

 

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