Wheelock, tycoon offer to buy Hotel Properties
SINGAPORE — A consortium that includes Singapore tycoon Ong Beng Seng and Wheelock Properties (Singapore) has offered to buy out Hotel Properties in a deal valuing the company at about S$1.8 billion, the latest in a string of acquisitions by large shareholders seeking to gain full control of property assets.
SINGAPORE — A consortium that includes Singapore tycoon Ong Beng Seng and Wheelock Properties (Singapore) has offered to buy out Hotel Properties in a deal valuing the company at about S$1.8 billion, the latest in a string of acquisitions by large shareholders seeking to gain full control of property assets.
68 Holdings has agreed to acquire nearly 214 million shares, or a 41.9 per cent stake, in Hotel Properties at S$3.50 each, based on stock filings. The group plans to make a cash offer for all the remaining shares it does not own.
“The partnership between Ong Beng Seng and Wheelock will work out well,” said Mr Terence Wong, Head of Research at DMG & Partners Securities. “Hotel Properties has underperformed compared to their potential, so this venture will help in co-development of properties.”
Hotel Properties, which owns the Hilton and Concorde properties in Singapore, has 28 resorts and hotels in countries such as the United States, Malaysia and the Maldives. It also develops luxury condominiums in Singapore and Thailand. The decision to combine will help “enhance value over time”, the companies said in the statement.
Together with a business partner, Mr Ong — who is also Managing Director of Hotel Properties — owns the majority of Cuscaden Partners, which, in turn, holds 60 per cent of the venture making the bid. Wheelock’s Nassim Developments owns the remaining 40 per cent stake in 68 Holdings. Agencies