Amara shares surge 27% on privatisation offer

SINGAPORE – Shares of hotel group Amara soared shortly after the market opened on April 29, a day after news broke that it had received a voluntary conditional general offer at 89.5 cents apiece.

The counter hit an intraday high of 89.5 cents at 9.09am on April 29 as 172,400 shares changed hands – marking a rise of 19 cents or 27 per cent from its latest closing price for April 28, when it finished unchanged at 70.5 cents after news of the offer broke.

This is the highest price it has reached in the year to date and marks a 57 per cent or 32.5 cent increase from its closing price of 57 cents for Dec 31, 2024, as shares of the group have been on a steady uptrend through the year.

By 9.47am, it had eased to 88.5 cents – still up from April 28’s close by 18 cents or 25.5 per cent – with some 209,400 shares transacted.

The stock closed at 88.5 cents on April 29.

On April 28, Amara received a privatisation offer from a consortium led by property company Hwa Hong, which was formerly listed on the Singapore Exchange.

The offeror, a special-purpose vehicle called DRC Investments, cited low trading liquidity and challenging macroeconomic conditions as the rationale behind its intent to privatise the company.

DRC Investments is owned by three parties: Shorea HwaHong Newfields VCC, linked to Hwa Hong Corp and the Newfields Group, with 35 per cent; Winteam Investment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wing Tai Holdings, with 35 per cent; and Albertsons Capital, controlled by Amara’s chairman and chief executive Albert Teo and chief operating officer Dawn Teo, with 30 per cent.

In a separate statement on April 28, Wing Tai, which is involved in property development, investment and retail, said the Amara Holdings investment will help it expand its core business, given the substantial overlap in both companies’ operations.

The 89.5 cent offer represents a 33 per cent premium over Amara’s net asset value per share as at end-December 2024. THE BUSINESS TIMES