SINGAPORE – Shares of the budget carrier Tiger Airways can now be delisted subject to the completion of the compulsory acquisition by Singapore Airlines (SIA), the Singapore Exchange (SGX) said on Monday (April 18).

The SGX also said it has no objection to granting Tiger Airways a waiver of the requirement under Rule 1307 of its Listing Manual that the proposed delisting be approved by shareholders in a general meeting. The waiver was granted given SIA now holds over 90 per cent of shares in Tiger Airways.

“Accordingly, it is a given conclusion that any delisting resolution will be approved. For that reason, it would be an unnecessary expenditure of time and expense if the company were required to call a general meeting of its shareholders to approve the proposed delisting,” the SGX said.

The perpetual convertible capital securities issued by Tiger Airways, however, will remain listed on SGX and are not affected by the delisting of the shares in the budget airline.

SIA had announced its takeover bid on November 6 last year, offering Tiger Airways shareholders an initial offer price of S$0.41 per share. The offer was raised by nearly 10 per cent to S$0.45 a share on Jan 4, following an appeal by the Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS), on behalf of Tiger Airway’s long-term minority investors.

SIA intends to boost co-operation and integration of the budget carrier with the other airlines within the group, including SilkAir – its regional arm and its medium-to- long-haul budget airline Scoot. It hopes this will strengthen its position in the region and beyond amid tough competition from rival airlines.