Catalist-listed Asia-Pacific Strategic Investments Limited (Apsil) has said it will proceed to acquire shares in IPC Corporation from certain existing shareholders, notwithstanding tycoon Oei Hong Leong's withdrawal from the offer.

Without Mr Oei's stake, however, the real estate company would assume control of only 11.9 million shares, or about 13.95 per cent of IPC's share capital.

Since the acquisition of shares from IPC chief executive Patrick Ngiam and other executive directors would give Apsil a stake of less than 30 per cent in IPC, there is no need for the company, under Singapore's takeover code, to make a mandatory offer for IPC's remaining shares.

Mr Oei has a 32.96 per cent stake in mainboard-listed IPC. He also has a 34.82 per cent stake in Apsil.

The firm, which had earlier said it aimed to integrate IPC's business with its own, planned to pay for the proposed acquisition by issuing 133 new, fully paid-up ordinary shares for every IPC share.

This offer arrangement represented a 28.2 per cent premium to the last traded price of IPC shares on Jan 26 - the last trading day before the announcement - and a 6.6 per cent discount to the volume-weighted average price for the three-month period to Jan 26.

IPC shares closed flat at 35 cents yesterday.