STE TransCore, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) S63 0.00% , has priced US$500 million ($670.0 million) worth of notes under the group&rsquo s $5 billion global medium term note programme.

 

The notes, which will bear interest at a fixed rate of 4.125% per annum (p.a.), will mature on May 23, 2026.

 

The notes will be issued in denominations of US$200,000 and integral multiples of US$1,000 in excess thereof.

 

The net proceeds will be used by STE TransCore to refinance its outstanding short-term US commercial papers. The group the interest expense incurred by the notes are expected to be reduced through the amortisation of the unused treasury lock settlement gains on its balance sheet reserves.

 

The notes are offered by STE TransCore with exemptions that are invoked under sections 274 and, or 275 of the Securities and Futures Act (SFA).

MORGAN Stanley picked up an additional 603,363 shares of Vertex Technology Acquisition Corporation : VT1 0%(VTAC) on Nov 23 and became the latest substantial shareholder of Singapore&rsquo s first special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with a deemed interest of just over 6 per cent.

 

A filing on Friday (Nov 25) showed that Morgan Stanley now has a deemed interest of about 2.5 million VTAC shares, up from 1.9 million shares or a stake of about 4.6 per cent prior to the transaction. 

 

The deemed interest is because it is the controlling interest in Morgan Stanley&rsquo s body corporate which is interested in such shares, the filing said. 

 

Morgan Stanley may, following the acquisition which was due to an &ldquo aggregation of global position&rdquo , exercise the right to &ldquo rehypothecate or dispose of&rdquo the shares.

VTAC shares closed at S$4.95 on Wednesday no trades were recorded for Pegasus Asia

THE units of Singapore' s first 2 special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have begun trading separately as shares and warrants on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

 

Vertex Technology Acquisition Corp (VTAC) and Pegasus Asia went public on the Singapore Exchange on Jan 20 and 21 respectively. Their units had traded until last Friday (Mar 4), before the detachment date on Mar 7.

 

SPACs are listed as units comprising a share and a fraction of a warrant during their initial public offering (IPO). The share and fractional warrant trade together as a unit for the initial part of a SPAC' s life, ahead of detachment, which typically occurs on the 45th calendar day from the listing date.

 

VTAC units, comprising 1 share and 0.3 of a warrant, closed at S$5.18 on Friday Pegasus Asia units, comprising 1 share and 0.5 of a warrant, closed at S$4.98. Both units have since been delisted.

 

Unitholders' accounts were credited with the separated shares and warrants 2 business days after detachment. Shareinvestor data showed trades on the separated shares and warrants commencing on Wednesday.

 

Shares of VTAC closed at S$4.95 on Wednesday, down 4.4 per cent from Friday' s close, when it was still trading as a unit 22,100 shares changed hands. VTAC' s warrants closed at S$0.39 on Wednesday, with 4,350 warrants traded. Shareinvestor data showed the warrants traded between S$0.30 and S$0.39 during the day.

 

No trades were recorded for Pegasus Asia' s shares or warrants on Wednesday. SGX data showed that investors were bidding at S$4.75 for the shares, with the ask price standing at S$4.95. The bid price for the warrants was S$0.055, with the ask price at S$0.55.

 

Also known as blank-cheque companies, SPACs are listed cash shells whose purpose is to identify a suitable target company to acquire, taking that target company public in the process.

 

The founders of a SPAC - known as sponsors - raise capital from investors during the IPO, with most of the proceeds parked in escrow while they seek a suitable target company within a fixed timeframe.

 

Shareholders will receive their pro-rata portion of the escrow account if the sponsor is unable to find a target and the SPAC liquidates, or if they choose to redeem their shares because they are not in favour of the target.

 

Redeeming shareholders can still retain their warrants, which could provide upside if the merged entity eventually outperforms.

 

In the case of VTAC, investors who do not redeem their shares at the point of business combination would be entitled to an additional warrant entitlement of 0.2 per share.

 

Since SGX introduced its SPAC framework last September, 3 SPACs have gone public, each at an IPO price of S$5 for their units.

 

Novo Tellus Alpha Acquisition units, comprising 1 share and 0.5 of a warrant, began trading on Jan 27. They will detach the coming Monday. The units closed at S$4.95 on Wednesday, up 1.9 per cent.

 

VERTEX Technology Acquisition Corporation Ltd (VTAC) saw the public offer tranche 36.0 times subscribed at the close of its initial public offering (IPO), it said on Wednesday (Jan 19).

 

Units are expected to start trading on the Singapore Exchange mainboard at 2pm today.

 

VTAC, Singapore' s first listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), had offered 11.8 million units at S$5 apiece.

 

Some 600,000 units were offered to the public, with more than 3,700 valid applications received for about 21.6 million units. There were roughly 890 successful applicants in the public offering.

 

The international placement tranche of 11.2 million units was about 8.8 times subscribed, with indications of interest received for 98.6 million units. This placement was open to institutional and other investors in Singapore, as well as foreign institutional and selected investors outside the United States.

 

Separate from the offering, 13 cornerstone investors subscribed for a combined 22.2 million cornerstone units. These investors include Temasek subsidiaries Venezio Investments and Fullerton Fund Management, as well as Dymon Asia Multi-Strategy Investment Master Fund, Asdew Acquisitions, and the Segantii Asia-Pacific Equity Multi-Strategy Fund.

 

SPACs are investment vehicles that go public with the aim of acquiring and merging with a suitable target company, in what is known as an " initial business combination" .

 

The IPO raised gross proceeds of S$200 million in all from the issue of 40 million units, with the funds to be used for the initial business combination and deferred underwriting commissions.

 

VTAC chairman Chua Kee Lock said: " We will focus on achieving a successful initial business combination and seek to create long-term value for the target company and our stakeholders."