SINGAPORE - Shares of CWT jumped 9 per cent in early trading on Monday (April 10) after China's HNA Group made a pre-conditional general offer for the logistics provider after almost a year of exclusive talks with its three controlling families.
The counter was trading at S$2.26, up 19 cents or 9.2 per cent, as of 9:50am.
HNA is offering S$2.33 in cash for each CWT share, in a deal that values the group at about S$1.4 billion, the Chinese conglomerate announced in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late on Sunday.
CWT chairman Loi Kai Meng and his son, group chief executive Loi Pok Yen, together with the Liao and Lim families, own 65.1 per cent of CWT. The families have given their undertaking to accept the offer.
At S$2.33 a share, the offer represents a 12.6 per cent premium to CWT's last traded price pre-offer announcement of S$2.07.
HNA intends to make CWT its wholly owned subsidiary and will delist the company. It said it will also retain the senior management team of CWT's key business units to ensure continuity in its management, business and operations.
One of China's richest companies, HNA was founded by billionaire Chen Feng as the parent company of Hainan Airlines.
CWT operates in more than 90 countries and was once the warehousing and container trucking services arm of government-linked port operator PSA until C&P bought over the company in 2004.
CWT is also the sponsor of Cache Logistics Trust, and manages the Reit together with ARA Asset Management, with CWT holding a 40 per cent stake in the Reit manager.
