Ho Bee Land sparks bidding war for Australian property developer AVJennings at A$0.70 a share

REAL estate group Ho Bee Land has launched a non-binding indicative offer to acquire all shares it does not indirectly own in AVJennings for A$0.70 apiece.

This beats an existing offer of A$0.67 a share made by Proprium Capital Partners and Avid Property Group.

In November last year, AVJennings announced that it received an unsolicited, incomplete and non-binding indicative proposal from the two companies, through its investment vehicle PM Nominees C, to acquire all outstanding shares by way of a scheme of arrangement.

The total consideration of the deal would amount to about A$390.7 million (S$330.5 million), said Ho Bee Land on Wednesday (Jan 15).

Ho Bee Land currently indirectly holds a 5.49 per cent stake in the Australian-based residential property development company.

“The proposed transaction represents a good opportunity for the group to enhance its scale and capabilities in Australia,” said Ho Bee Land.

It added: “The merged Australian business will have a stronger financial position, increased revenue potential, and enhanced business’ capability to compete on a national level.”

The proposed deal is subject to the entry into a scheme implementation deed and other definitive documents after negotiations between both companies, among other factors.

Ho Bee Land also noted that the proposed transaction is not expected to have a material impact on the company’s consolidated net tangible assets per share or earnings per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2025.

Shares of Ho Bee Land ended Tuesday 1.1 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$1.83, while those of AVJennings closed flat at A$0.63 on the Singapore Exchange.