Trading in its shares is now expected to be suspended, as the number of shares in public hands is below the 10% free float threshold
OCBC and its concert parties have garnered 93.52 per cent of shares in Great Eastern as at the close of the offer on Friday (Jul 12).
This is lower than the 98.87 per cent shareholding required to trigger a compulsory acquisition of shares that OCBC does not already own in the insurer.
Trading in Great Eastern’s shares is now expected to be suspended, as the number of shares in public hands is below the 10 per cent free float threshold.
OCBC had in May made a voluntary unconditional general offer of S$1.4 billion for the remaining 11.56 per cent stake in Great Eastern that it did not already own, with the aim to delist the insurer.
This translated to an offer price of S$25.60 per share, which represented a 36.9 per cent premium over Great Eastern’s last traded price of S$18.70, prior to the offer announcement.
However, it was at a 30 per cent discount to the insurer’s embedded value per share of S$36.59 as at Dec 31, 2023.
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In June, the independent financial adviser to the deal, professional services firm EY, determined that OCBC’s offer was “not fair but reasonable”.
Shares of OCBC closed 0.5 per cent or S$0.08 higher at S$15.28 on Friday. Those of Great Eastern rose 0.7 per cent or S$0.17 to S$25.80, prior to the announcement.
