SINGAPORE - The parent of Kingboard Copper Foil Holdings has tabled an unconditional cash offer to take the mainboard-listed company private.

A unit of Kingboard Laminates, which is 72.59 per cent owned by Hong Hong-listed Kingboard Chemical Holdings, is offering 40 cents apiece to minority shareholders of Kingboard Copper.

The offer represents a premium of 17.6 per cent of the last traded price of Kingboard Copper on Feb 27 before the company asked for a trading halt pending an announcement.

The premium is 49.1 per cent of the shares volume weighted average price over the past 12 months.

However, this may not assuage long time shareholders, some of whom have been holding on to the shares they had subscribed for at the initial public offering price of 53 cents apiece in 1999.

But this offer is far better than a previous attempt in made in 2009 when Kingboard Laminates offered to buy the rest of Kingboard Copper through a cash offer, share swap or combination of both.

Kingboard Copper shareholders then could either chose to receive 21 cents in cash or accept 0.374 of a new Kingboard Laminates share in exchange for one Kingboard Copper Foil share.

That buyout offer was voted down by Kingboard Copper shareholders.

Religare Capital Markets Corporate Finance, which is acting on behalf of the offeror said in a statement on March 3 that the offer gives shareholders "an opportunity to realise their investment in the company for a cash consideration at a premium above the historical market share prices, without incurring any brokerage and other trading costs".

The offeror intends to delist and privatise Kingboard Copper.

"The delisting of the company will eliminate listing related expenses which can be channelled towards its business operations," the statement noted.

The Kingboard Chemical group has business activities ranging from manufacture and sale of laminates, printed circuit boards, chemicals, liquid crystal displays and magnetic products, and property development and investment.