Will it be 3rd time lucky for OCBC Bank? The venerable bank tried to privatise Great Eastern Holdings (GEH) unsuccessfully in 2004 and 2006. In the 2006 attempt, OCBC Bank managed to raised its stake in Great Eastern to 87.1%. Since then, OCBC Bank has steadily increased its stake to 87.91% as at 31 March 2021. If a privatisation does materialise, what would be the impact on OCBC share price (SGX: O39)?
Under SGX Rule 723 of the Listing Manual, listed companies must ensure that at least 10% of their issued shares must be held by the public. As OCBC currently holds about 12% of Great Eastern, the bank would just need to acquire only 2% more of Great Eastern shares in order to trigger the mandatory delisting requirement. The impetus for the acquisition should be the ailing OCBC share price.
Year-to-date, OCBC share price has increased by a mere 12.9%....
