Singapore Press says shareholders approve acquisition by Cuscaden Peak

Hotel Properties

22/03/2022 11:51

SINGAPORE, March 22 (Reuters) - Singapore Press Holdings
(SPH) said on Tuesday its shareholders had approved acquisition
by Cuscaden Peak, after it announced it was terminating rival
bidder Keppel Corp's  KPLM.SI  offer.
    Both Cuscaden Peak and Keppel Corp are linked to state
investor Temasek, and the deal had sparked a rare bidding war
between the two groups, with the former offering S$2.40 per
share, or S$3.9 billion ($2.87 billion), and the latter offering
S$2.351 per share or S$3.74 billion for SPH's real estate
business.
    Keppel Corp, which counts Temasek Holdings as a major
shareholder, has previously said it did not agree with SPH's
move to terminate its offer. The conglomerate has filed an
arbitration notice with the Singapore International Arbitration
Centre.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2UL02W
    Cuscaden Peak, a consortium of property tycoon Ong Beng
Seng's Hotel Properties  HPPS.SI  and two independently managed
portfolio companies of Temasek, clinched the acquisition, SPH
said in a statement. It will gain access to SPH's real estate
portfolio, which includes malls, residential properties, student
accommodation and nursing homes, but not its loss-making media
business, which was separated from the company last year.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2MT21Y
    A Singapore court is expected to approve the Cuscaden
takeover around April 5, and shareholders can expect to start
receiving payments from May 11, SPH  SPRM.SI  said.
    SPH has also been granted permission by the Singapore
Exchange to skip announcing its financial results in the first
half of this year, subject to shareholder approval. 
    

($1 = 1.3578 Singapore dollars)

 (Reporting by Chen Lin in Singapore; Editing by Kanupriya
Kapoor)
 ((Lin.Chen@tr.com; Twitter @chenlin_sg;))