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Singapore: The Al Futtaim Group raised its offer for Robinson by 12 per cent as it seeks to expand its Middle East franchise of Marks & Spencer stores to Singapore.
ALF Global Private Ltd, a unit of Al Futtaim, raised its bid to S$7 a share from the January offer of S$6.25, it said in a statement to Singapore's stock exchange. The price, which values Robinson at S$601.6 million ($434 million), is 3.1 per cent higher than the last traded price of S$6.79 before the announcement.
Al Futtaim, which operates nine Marks & Spencer stores in the Middle East, hopes to gain control of Robinson's seven clothing stores operating under the brand in Singapore as well as its department-store chains. "This revision represents a full price for the business and a compelling opportunity for shareholders to realise value," James Gillespie McCallum, director of ALF Global, said in the statement.
Shares rise
Robinson's shares rose 1.2 per cent to S$6.88 before being suspended at 2:41pm in Singapore. The stock has risen 56.4 per cent this year, compared with the 19.4 per cent drop in Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index.
Al Futtaim said it secured acceptances for 26.7 per cent of Robinson's shares, compared with 23.2 per cent when it first made the offer. The bid is conditional upon ALF receiving acceptances for 50 per cent of the shares, it said in January. The buyer also reiterated its April 3 deadline for the bid to close.
Indonesia's Lippo Group owns 29.9 per cent of Robinson after paying S$203 million for the stake from Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and Great Eastern Holdings Ltd. in 2006. Oversea-Chinese still owns 6.05 per cent, according to Robinson's annual report.
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