OSIM raises offer price by 2 cents

SINGAPORE — After keeping shareholders on tenterhooks for three days following an abrupt trading halt on Tuesday, lifestyle products distributor OSIM announced late yesterday that it would be sweetening its offer yet again — by two cents a share — to take the firm private, hoping to win over the minority owners.

On Tuesday, one month after he first announced his buyout bid — OSIM chairman and CEO Ron Sim had raised his offer to S$1.39 a share from S$1.32 through his investment vehicle Vision Three.

A Vision Three statement said then that the offer was final but minutes before the close of trade on Tuesday, trading in the shares was halted, prompting widespread speculation over the reason behind the move.

Yesterday, Vision Three said that the final offer price would now be S$1.41, inclusive of a 2 cent final dividend for the fiscal year 2015. It added that it would “not further revise the final offer price”.

Shareholders who had validly accepted the earlier offer and have not withdrawn their acceptances will now receive the final offer price of S$1.41 per share, or the final ex-dividend offer price of S$1.39 per offer share, depending on the settlement date.

If the settlement date fell on or before 5pm on April 6, which was the books closure date for the FY2015 final dividend, then the accepting shareholder shall receive the final offer price of S$1.41 a share.

However, if the settlement date falls after 5pm on April 6, then the accepting shareholder shall receive the final ex-dividend offer price of S$1.39 a share.

This represents the final offer price of S$1.41 less the FY2015 final dividend of 2 cents that shareholders as at 5pm on April 6 will receive, Vision Three clarified.

“For the avoidance of doubt, any shareholder who validly tenders offer shares in acceptance of the offer from the date of this announcement will receive the final ex-dividend offer price (S$1.39),” the statement said.

Some traders had previously predicted an improved offer for OSIM and the shares have been trading above the original offer price since it was first announced on March 7.

OSIM’s share price had gained 1.1 per cent to S$1.37 on Tuesday before trading was suspended minutes before the close of trading, pending the release of an announcement.

Vision Three said that as at 5pm yesterday, it had valid acceptances amounting to a little over 2.1 million shares, representing about 0.29 per cent of the issued share capital of OSIM.

Vision Three had on Tuesday also purchased nearly 17 million shares on the Singapore Exchange.

Together with the acceptances, this takes the total percentage of OSIM shares owned, acquired or agreed to be acquired by Vision Three and concert parties to 71.83 per cent from 69.25 per cent as at the offer announcement date.

The closing date has been extended to April 29 from April 25.