[SINGAPORE] Great Eastern Holdings is set to resume trading after a vote for a delisting resolution fell through at its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Tuesday (Jul 8).
Some 63.49 per cent of minority shareholders present and voting at the EGM cast their votes in favour of a conditional exit offer from parent company OCBC, falling short of the 75 per cent required to pass the resolution.
OCBC, the offeror, was unable to vote on the resolution.
As a result, Great Eastern proposed another resolution to satisfy its free float requirement, which includes a one-for-one bonus issue resolution comprising new ordinary shares and newly-created Class C non-voting shares.
This resolution, which OCBC could vote on, was passed.
OCBC said it intends to receive the Class C non-voting shares, which will dilute the lender’s own shareholding of voting shares in Great Eastern to 88.19 per cent.
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This allows Great Eastern to satisfy the minimum free float of 10 per cent to maintain its listing on the Singapore Exchange.
OCBC will keep its 93.72 per cent stake in the economic interests in the insurer, however, since the non-voting shares rank equally with all ordinary shares.
That is if all the minority shareholders do not elect for the Class C non-voting shares. Great Eastern said it will make further announcements on the administrative procedures if these shareholders would choose to do so.
OCBC said it has no intention of launching another offer in the foreseeable future.
In June, OCBC made a S$900 million conditional exit offer at S$30.15 per share for the 6.28 per cent stake in Great Eastern it does not own.
The offer, which OCBC said was made “at the request of Great Eastern”, will resolve the latter’s 11-month suspension in share trading, while “providing its shareholders an exit at a fair and reasonable price”.
The offer is deemed “fair and reasonable”.
This comes more than a year after OCBC first made a privatisation bid for Great Eastern through a voluntary unconditional general offer at S$25.60 per share.
The previous offer was deemed “not fair but reasonable”.
