Keppel Corporation Limited (Keppel), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel Pegasus Pte Ltd, has offered to acquire all shares of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) post restructuring of its media business in a deal worth S$3.4bn ($2.5bn). The deal which is aligned with Keppel’s ‘Vision 2030’ values each share of SPH at S$2.099 which includes a cash component of S$0.668/share, 0.596 Keppel REIT units valued at S$0.715 per share and 0.782 SPH REIT units valued at S$0.716 per share and offers a 39% premium to the last traded price of S$1.5/share before the strategic review of SPH’s businesses was announced on March 30, 2021. It offers a premium of 11.6% to the last traded price of S$1.88/share on July 30, 2021. SPH had announced the Strategic Review aiming to unlock and maximize shareholder value through restructuring of it’s media business. The Media Restructuring announced on May 6, 2021, will result in the transfer of assets including relevant subsidiaries, employees and intellectual property to a wholly-owned subsidiary, SPH Media Holdings Pte Ltd (SPH Media). SPH Media will then be transferred to a public company limited by guarantee (CLG) which is expected to be completed by December 2021. The privatization by Keppel is likely to conclude soon after the completion of the Media Restructuring. The scheme is subject to regulatory approvals as well as the approval of shareholders of both SPH and Keppel. After the completion of the deal, SPH will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel and will be delisted. Keppel will hold a remaining stake in SPH REIT and Keppel REIT of approximately 20% each. SPH, SPH REIT, Keppel Corp and Keppel REIT called for the trading halts of their shares pending the release of announcements.
Keppel Makes S$3.4bn offer for SPH’s Non-media Business
SPH’s 3.2% 2030s and 4.5% perps were stable at 98.5 and 101.6 respectively. Keppel’s 3% 2024s and 4% 2042s were also stable at 104.1 and 105.49 respectively.
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