Review rules on takeovers and privatisations in Singapore
June 8, 2014 Leave a comment
PUBLISHED JUNE 03, 2014
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Review rules on takeovers and privatisations
MICHAEL Dee has written two very good analyses on the recent takeover offer for CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) by Capitaland (CL): “CMA shareholders should stand their ground against ‘fair offer'” in BT of April 22 and “Offer for CMA is still undervalued” in BT of May 29. All his points are very pertinent and can be equally applied to other recent takeover attempts, including that of LCD Global Investments (LCD) by RDL Investments (RDL).
It is the minorities who are greatly impacted by all these takeover attempts, and they have to protect their own interests. They have to let their voices be heard and not leave it to others to speak up for their rights. They should be wary of the advice of the “independent directors” who invariably follow the advice of the “independent financial advisors” (IFA), the independence of which may need to be questioned.
The Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS), being the watchdog for retail investors, should fight for a higher offer price for them. It should maintain a neutral stand and not advise retail investors to either accept or reject a takeover offer. Besides, SIAS does not hold a financial advisor licence, and is in no position to offer financial advice.
The same “conflict of interest” issue cited by Mr Dee in CL’s takeover for CMA also resurfaces in RDL’s takeover of LCD, as the two major shareholders of RDL are also majority shareholders of LCD. This is also manifested in other recent takeover attempts of other listed companies.
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