This is a new column that looks at interesting Singapore corporate developments and business news over the past week.
Lian Beng Group Ltd (SGX: L03)
Lian Beng is a construction group established back in 1973.
The group provides integrated civil engineering, in-house construction, and production of ready-mix concrete.
On 14 June, the Ong family, which controls 43.55% of the issued shares of the group, acquired an additional 1% stake.
This move automatically triggered a mandatory general offer for the rest of the company that they do not own.
The offer price of S$0.50 per share is just a 6.4% premium over the last traded price of Lian Beng of S$0.47 before a trading halt.
The offeror intends to maintain the listing status of the group.
Lian Beng reported a mixed performance for its fiscal 2021 half year ended 30 November 2020.
Revenue fell by 36.6% year on year to S$197.5 million but net profit attributable to shareholders slipped 5.2% year on year to S$17.6 million.
The group’s performance was bolstered by around S$13.1 million in COVID-19-related government grants.
OTS Holdings Ltd (SGX: OTS)
OTS Holdings, a food manufacturing group that produces ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook meat products, saw its initial public offering attract strong demand last week.
The group’s flagship brands include “Golden Bridge” and “Kelly’s” and it operates three manufacturing facilities in Singapore and Indonesia.
Its shares were priced at S$0.23 apiece.
At the close of the offer, the public tranche was oversubscribed by nearly 234 times, underscoring the strong demand for its shares.
The entire invitation was 8.4 times subscribed.
The shares have performed well post-IPO, surging by 56% from its offer price to close at S$0.36 on 18 June.
The group intends to develop and manage its brand portfolio and expand its business overseas.
Suntec REIT (SGX: T82U)
Suntec REIT is one of Singapore’s oldest REITs and holds a portfolio of retail and commercial properties in Singapore, Australia and the UK.
Last week, the REIT announced that it was divesting its 30% stake in its 9 Penang Road property for $295.5 million.
The gain on divestment amounts to S$66.5 million and the REIT enjoyed a 305% return on the cost of its investment.
The rationale for the sale was to strengthen the REIT’s balance sheet and to realise the value of the capital appreciation.
The capital gains amounted to around S$0.0227 per unit.
There is no change, however, to Suntec REIT’s distribution per unit after the transaction is concluded as there was no income contribution from this property for the fiscal year 2020.
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Disclaimer: Royston Yang owns shares of Suntec REIT.
