SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Cuscaden Peak's mandatory cash offer to acquire all units of SPH real estate investment trust (Reit) has turned unconditional in all respects, according to a bourse filing on Thursday (June 2).
As at 6pm on Wednesday, offeror Cuscaden Peak had received valid acceptances of its chain offer in respect of approximately 4.64 per cent of total issued SPH Reit units.
This brings the total number of units owned, controlled, acquired or agreed to be acquired by the offeror and its concert parties to around 1.46 billion, representing 51.96 per cent of the total number of issued SPH Reit units.
This satisfies the minimum acceptance condition of 50 per cent of the issued SPH Reit units as at June 1, making Cuscaden's offer unconditional in all respects, the statement said.
The closing date for the chain offer has also been extended for two weeks to 5.30pm on June 30.
Cuscaden in April 2022 offered to acquire SPH Reit at the minimum offer price of 93.72 cents per unit, following the completion of an offer by the investment vehicle to take Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) private.
Units of SPH Reit closed flat at 94 cents on Thursday.
Cuscaden is a consortium comprising locally listed hotel and property owner Hotel Properties, businessman Ong Beng Seng, and Temasek-linked entities CLA and Mapletree Investments, whose businesses span the real estate sector.
After 38 years on the Singapore Exchange, SPH was officially delisted on May 13 and is now wholly owned by Cuscaden.
SPH Limited was incorporated on Aug 4, 1984, as a holding company to effect the merger of The Straits Times Press (1975) Limited, Singapore News and Publications Limited, Times Publishing Berhad and Singapore Newspaper Services. It later built up a portfolio of property assets that include Paragon mall in Orchard Road.
In March, SPH shareholders voted in favour of an offer by Cuscaden to acquire SPH's non-media assets. The media assets were spun off under SPH Media Trust, a not-for-profit entity, last December.
SPH chief executive officer Ng Yat Chung was replaced by Mr Gerald Yong, former CEO of CapitaLand (Special Projects), on May 16.
