Amara Holdings has received approval from the Singapore Exchange to delist, according to a bourse filing by the group on July 8.

 

On Apr 28, Amara Holdings received an offer by DRC Investments to take over the firm for 89.5 cents per share. DRC Investments is an entity backed by parties including Wing Tai Holdings and the Teo family controlling Amara Holdings.

 

On May 15, DRC Investments received valid acceptances of over 90%, and the offer was declared unconditional in all respects. The next day the company declared the loss of free float, and submitted an application to the SGX for the approval of its delisting.

 

The delisting of Amara is subject to the offeror completing the compulsory acquisition the company making an immediate announcement of the delisting and a submission of a written confirmation that the company is not aware of any information that will have a material bearing on investors&rsquo decision which has yet to be announced by the company.

 

The offeror, a consortium led by Hwa Hong, will compulsorily acquire all remaining shares and delist the company

 

[SINGAPORE] The privatisation offer for hotel and property group Amara finally succeeded on Tuesday (Jun 10), with valid acceptances representing 97.74 per cent of the total shares.

 

As at the close of the offer at 5.30 pm on Tuesday, the total number of shares owned, controlled or agreed to be acquired by DRC Investments, together with valid acceptances of the offer, amounted to 562 million shares.

 

DRC, a consortium led by property developer Hwa Hong, will exercise its right to compulsorily acquire all remaining shares at the offer price of S$0.895 a share.

 

Amara will subsequently be delisted from the Singapore Exchange.

 

DRC said it has no intention to preserve the group&rsquo s listing status and will instead make it a wholly owned subsidiary.

 

DRC is a special-purpose vehicle that is 35 per cent held by a fund sponsored by formerly Singapore-listed Hwa Hong and Malaysia-based Newfields. Another 35 per cent shareholder is a wholly owned subsidiary of local developer Wing Tai.

 

Albert Teo, Amara&rsquo s chairman and chief executive officer, and his daughter, chief operating officer Dawn Teo, hold the remaining 30 per cent of DRC.

 

The S$0.895 offer price represents a 27 per cent premium over Amara&rsquo s closing price of S$0.705 on Apr 23, ahead of the trading halt called by the company the following day.

 

It is also a 33 per cent premium over Amara&rsquo s net asset value per share as at end-December 2024.

 

In a previous bourse filing, DRC cited low trading liquidity and challenging macroeconomic conditions for Amara&rsquo s privatisation.

 

This includes a rise in protectionist policies and shifting trade agreements, which could disrupt supply chains and increase costs for businesses. These may result in higher operations costs, squeezing profit margins and affecting long-term growth prospects, it said.

 

&ldquo The offer represents a unique cash exit opportunity for shareholders to liquidate and realise their entire investment at a premium, an option which may not otherwise be readily available due to the low trading liquidity of the shares,&rdquo it added.

 

The latest privatisation offer was the second time Amara was the target of a privatisation deal.

 

In 2023, the group received a voluntary cash offer at S$0.60 a share from Amethyst Assets, a consortium linked to Albert Teo, other members of his family and private equity investor Dymon Asia.

 

But the attempt fell short of the 90 per cent threshold for acceptances, at 88.39 per cent in shareholding interest.

Total number of shares owned, controlled or to be acquired by the offeror together with valid acceptances of the offer amount to 90.88% of the total number of shares

 

[SINGAPORE] The mandatory cash offer for hotel group Amara by a consortium led by property company Hwa Hong has turned unconditional.

 

As at 6 pm on Thursday (May 15), the total number of shares owned, controlled or agreed to be acquired by the offeror together with valid acceptances of the offer amounted to 522,529,331 shares, or 90.88 per cent of the total number of shares of Amara.

 

This means that Amara has lost its free float, as less than 10 per cent of the company&rsquo s shares are now held by the public. The Singapore Exchange will suspend trading of Amara&rsquo s shares at the close of the offer on Jun 10. 

 

The offeror, a special-purpose vehicle called DRC Investments, is able to privatise Amara at the offer price of S$0.895 per share which values the hotel group at about S$514.6 million. 

 

A fund sponsored by Hwa Hong and Malaysia-based Newfields holds a 35 per cent stake in DRC Investments. DRC Investments is also 30 per cent owned by Albertsons Capital, whose shareholders are Albert Teo, Amara&rsquo s chairman and chief executive, and his daughter Dawn Teo, Amara&rsquo s chief operating officer.

 

Wing Tai&rsquo s wholly owned subsidiary, Winteam Investment, also holds a 35 per cent stake in the consortium.

 

The offer represents a premium of 27 per cent over Amara&rsquo s closing price of S$0.705 on Apr 23 before the company called for a trading halt the following day.

 

The S$0.895 offer price also represents a 42.1 per cent, 44.8 per cent, 46.7 per cent and 48.9 per cent premium over Amara&rsquo s volume-weighted average price for the one-month, three-month, six-month and 12-month periods up to and including the last traded day, respectively.

 

The offeror intends to make Amara a wholly owned subsidiary, it said on Thursday. 

 

The low trading liquidity of Amara&rsquo s shares was cited as one reason for the offer. The stock had an average trading volume of 21,201 shares over the 12-month period leading up to Apr 23. This represented 0.004 per cent of the company&rsquo s total issued shares.

 

DRC Investments said in April that Amara was facing a challenging macro and operating environment.

 

The rise in protectionist policies and shifting trade agreements could disrupt supply chains and increase costs for businesses.

 

&ldquo These challenges may result in higher procurement expenses for the group&rsquo s operations, squeezing profit margins and impacting long-term growth prospects,&rdquo it said.

The S$0.895 offer represents a 33% premium over the company&rsquo s net asset value per share as at end-December 2024

 

[SINGAPORE] Shares of hotel group Amara : A34 +25.53% soared shortly after the market opened on Tuesday (Apr 29), after news broke on Monday that it received a voluntary conditional general offer at S$0.895 apiece.

 

The counter hit an all-time high of S$0.895 as at 9.09 am on Tuesday, as 172,400 shares changed hands. This marked a rise of S$0.19 or 27 per cent from its closing price on Apr 23 &ndash the day before it called for a trading halt &ndash where it ended S$0.02 or 2.9 per cent higher at S$0.705.

 

In the year to date, it represents a 57 per cent or S$0.325 rise from its closing price of S$0.57 on Dec 31, 2024, as shares of the group have been on a steady uptrend through the year. 

 

By the midday trading break on Tuesday, the share price eased down to S$0.885 &ndash still S$0.18 or 25.5 per cent above Monday&rsquo s close &ndash with some 227,400 shares transacted.

 

Privatisation offer

On Monday, Amara received a privatisation offer from a consortium led by property company Hwa Hong, which was formerly listed on the Singapore Exchange.

 

The offeror, a special-purpose vehicle called DRC Investments, cited low trading liquidity of Amara&rsquo s shares and challenging macroeconomic conditions as reasons for seeking to privatise the company.

Shareholders of the offeror include a fund jointly sponsored by Hwa Hong and financial consultant Newfields, which owns a 35 per cent stake in DRC Investments.

 

Albertsons Capital, whose shareholders include Amara&rsquo s chairman and chief executive Albert Teo and his daughter Dawn Teo, who is Amara&rsquo s chief operating officer, holds a 30 per cent stake in the offeror.

 

Another 35 per cent stake is held by Winteam Investment, a wholly owned subsidiary of property and retail company Wing Tai : W05 +2.63%.

 

Hwa Hong, Wing Tai, Teo family consortium launches bid to take Amara private at S$0.895 a share

The S$0.895 offer is final and values the hotel group at around S$514.6 million.

 

It represents a premium of 27 per cent above Amara&rsquo s closing price of S$0.705 on Apr 23, the day before it called for a trading halt, and a 33 per cent premium over Amara&rsquo s net asset value per share as at end-December 2024.

 

The offeror secured irrevocable undertakings from a group of Amara shareholders with a combined stake of 90.58 per cent to vote in favour of the deal. The group includes Amethyst Assets, a special-purpose vehicle that proposed to privatise Amara in 2023.

 

Amara is an integrated lifestyle group that operates in hotel investment and management, property investment and development, as well as speciality restaurants and food services. Its portfolio includes its flagship Amara Singapore in Tanjong Pagar.

 

An entity backed by multiple parties including Hwa Hong Corp, Wing Tai Holdings and the Teo family controlling Amara Holdings is offering 89.5 cents per share to take over the property and hospitality firm at $514.6 million.

 

The vehicle used is called DRC Investments, which is held by a group of investors and which has already secured 90.58% of all Amara Holdings shares.

 

Eugene Teo, CEO and co-founder of Shorea Capital, which owns Shorea Advisors, the manager of Shorea Hwa Hong Newfields variable capital company (VCC), says this is an opportunity for Amara Holdings shareholders to realise their investment at an attractive price and premium over the historical traded share prices.

 

" At a 27% premium over Amara' s last traded price, we believe it is a compelling offer, especially in the face of macroeconomic uncertainties and the low trading liquidity of Amara' s Shares," he adds.

 

The shareholders of DRC Investments, the vehicle, consists of Shorea HwaHong Newfields, a VCC backed by Hwa Hong Corporation and the Newfields group of companies Winteam Investment, a unit of Wing Tai Holdings Limited and Albertsons Capital, whose shareholders are Albert Teo, Amara' s chairman, executive director and CEO, and Dawn Teo, Amara' s chief operating officer. The three parties own 35% 30% and 35% respectively of DRC Investments.

 

The offerors do not intend to revise their offer price, which is at a 33% premium over Amara' s net asset value per share of 67.3 cents.

 

Amara Holdings has been listed since 1997 and since then, has not tapped the equity market for additional capital.

 

UOB has been appointed the financial adviser for this deal.

THE voluntary cash offer for Amara Holdings : A34 +0.83% closed on Tuesday (Jan 16), with offeror Amethyst Assets garnering 88.39 per cent in shareholding interest.

 

This fell short of the 90 per cent threshold for acceptances, which would have allowed the offeror to exercise its right of compulsory acquisition over the hotel group. 

 

As at 5.30 pm on Tuesday, Amethyst Assets received valid acceptances representing about 72.73 per cent of the total number of shares in the company. 

 

In November 2023, Amethyst Assets &ndash a consortium linked to Albert Teo, Amara&rsquo s chief executive, other members of his family and private equity investor Dymon Asia &ndash made the privatisation offer, citing low trading liquidity and a challenging growth outlook. 

 

The stock has had an average trading volume of 31,473 shares over the 12-month period up to Jun 15. This represented less than 0.02 per cent of the company&rsquo s total issued shares.

 

Amethyst also said high interest rates had raised borrowing costs, impacting Amara&rsquo s profitability. 

 

As the offeror did not secure 90 per cent or more of the total shares, it will not be able to buy over the shares of shareholders who did not accept the offer. 

 

Independent financial adviser Xandar Capital had deemed the offer price of S$0.60 &ldquo fair and reasonable&rdquo . 

 

The offer price represented a premium of 53.8 per cent over Amara&rsquo s share price of S$0.39 on Jun 15, before the company announced that its key shareholders were in talks over a possible transaction, Amethyst said. 

 

It also represented a 70.5 per cent premium over Amara&rsquo s volume-weighted average price for the one month up to Jun 15, and a 75.4 per cent premium over the three-month period.

 

Amara&rsquo s hotel portfolio comprises its flagship Amara Singapore in Tanjong Pagar, Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa, Amara Signature Shanghai (China) and Amara Bangkok (Thailand).