Shareholders line up to sell Shin shares
Cedar Holdings Co Ltd and Aspen Holdings Co Ltd have practically snapped up a combined stake 65.8 per cent of Shin Corp Plc, according to SCB Securities Ltd.
Shin shareholders as of March 2 have proposed to sell a total of 486 million shares to Cedar and Aspen, said SCB Securities Ltd, the financial advisor to the two companies, which are conducting tender offers on behalf of Singapore's Temasek Holdings and Thai investors. The shares account for 16.2 per cent of the company's capital. Cedar and Aspen in January bought a 49.6-per-cent stake for Bt73.3 billion. As part of the tender offer that ends on March 9, a 324.4 million shares, or 10.8 per cent of outstanding shares, have been offered to Cedar, while 161.9 million shares - or 5.4 per cent - have been presented to Aspen. Also, warrant holders have proposed selling their warrants which could be exercised to buy another 96.8 million Shin shares - or 3.2 per cent of the company. A source from SCB Securities speculated that Aspen and Cedar would have to use their own money to pay for the shares, following Siam Commercial Bank's refusal to float additional loans. SCB and Bangkok Bank have jointly extended Bt26 billion for the takeover. At Bt49.25 per share, Aspen and Cedar are expected to spend an additional Bt79 billion for the remaining 50.4 per cent stake. It needs to pay for the tendered shares on March 14. Preparations for the tender offer have resulted in an influx of money from Singapore, which in turn has helped the baht strenghten against other currencies, according to foreign exchange dealers. Finance Minister Thanong Bidaya said that the appreciation would be short lived because it runs counter to the recent political problems. "It can't be long term because the economic trends are not that positive. Interest rates are on the rise while political conflicts are not settled yet," he said, attributing the baht increase to Temasek's baht accumulation for tender offer. Opening at Bt38.81-Bt38.85, the baht closed at 38.72 yesterday. The source also noted that the Bt73.3 billion Aspen and Cedar has already paid to major shareholders of Shin is now deposited at Siam Commercial Bank, Kasikornbank and Thai Military Bank.
Siriporn Chanjindamanee The Nation
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