Japan’s Isetan Mitsukoshi looks to take Isetan Singapore private at S$7.20 per share

JAPAN’S Isetan Mitsukoshi is looking to take mainboard-listed Isetan Singapore : I15 0% private by fully acquiring all the shares it does not own, ending the departmental store operator’s four-decade run on the Singapore bourse.

The proposed privatisation will be achieved through a scheme of arrangement, with a consideration of S$7.20 for each target share, the company said on Monday (Apr 1).

This implies a 37.4 per cent premium over the counter’s highest closing market price of S$5.24 in the past five years. It also offers a 26.3 per cent premium over the highest intra-day traded price of S$5.70 over the same period.

The scheme consideration is 153.5 per cent higher than the company’s closing price of S$2.84 on Mar 28, the last trading day. The company called for a trading halt on Monday morning.

It is also 173.4 per cent, 171.1 per cent, 168.9 per cent and 152.4 per cent above Isetan Singapore’s volume-weighted average price for the one-month, three-month, six-month and 12-month periods, respectively.

Isetan Mitsukoshi is the holding company for Mitsukoshi and Isetan department stores. It owns a 52.73 per cent interest in the company as at Mar 17, 2023, according to Isetan Singapore’s annual report.

The scheme will require in-principle approval from the Singapore Exchange for the scheme document and proposed delisting, along with a sanction of the scheme by the Singapore High Court.

It will also need majority approval, representing three-fourths in value of the shareholders present and voting at a scheme meeting to be convened at the direction of the court.