Singapore’s second-biggest lender, OCBC, unveiled a S$1.4 billion (US$1.04 billion) offer on Friday (May 10) to buy the remaining stake in insurer Great Eastern Holdings and delist the company.
OCBC, Great Eastern’s biggest shareholder, said it would acquire the 11.56 per cent stake in the insurer that it does not currently own. If it goes through, the deal will give the lender full ownership of the firm.
The offer price of S$25.60 per share, a premium of 37 per cent, values Great Eastern at S$12.12 billion.
OCBC said it intends to delist Great Eastern from Singapore markets after acquiring it.
Great Eastern could not be reached immediately for comments on the proposed acquisition. The company requested for a trading halt of shares immediately after OCBC’s announcement.
“The offer is a natural progression of OCBC’s strategy,” OCBC CEO Helen Wong said in a statement.
“We have been looking at opportunities to best use our capital and believe the offer allows us to deploy our resources into a key business that is expected to be earnings accretive to OCBC.”
