OCBC has made a S$1.4 billion voluntary unconditional general offer for the 11.56 per cent stake in Great Eastern Holdings that it does not currently own, with the aim to delist its insurance arm.
The offer price of S$25.60 represents a 36.9 per cent premium over Great Eastern’s last traded price of S$18.70.
This is a move aimed at strengthening OCBC’s business pillars of banking, wealth management and insurance, as well as optimising its capital to enhance shareholder returns, said the bank on Friday (May 10).
OCBC group chief executive Helen Wong said that the privatisation offer is a natural progression of OCBC’s strategy.
“We have moved intentionally to build up a strong wealth management franchise by hiring the best people and instituting best practices and processes, and raising our investment in Great Eastern.
“We have been looking at opportunities to best use our capital and believe the offer allows us to deploy our resources into a key business that is expected to be earnings accretive to OCBC,” she added.
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The counter of Great Eastern closed flat at S$18.70 on Thursday.
