KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 22): Kim Hin Industry Bhd (KL:KIMHIN) announced that chairman Chua Seng Huat and his family’s offer to take the ceramic tile maker private at 85 sen apiece has closed with the offerors holding a total 68.34% stake in the company.
The offerors received 8.1 million shares or a 5.78% stake in valid acceptances by the close of the unconditional voluntary takeover offer on Friday, bumping their collective stake to 68.34% or 95.84 million shares, according to a press notice from UOB Kay Hian (M) Sdn Bhd on behalf of the offerors. Another 0.11% stake worth of acceptances at the offer’s close are subject to verification.
Prior to the takeover offer, the offerors held a 62.25% stake or 87.3 million shares in Kim Hin.
The valid acceptances fall short of the required threshold for the offerors to compulsorily acquire the remaining offer shares, as they only represent 15.3% of the 52.94 million shares they do not already own — short of the 90% requisite threshold.
The offer's deadline was previously extended by a week, from Aug 15 to Aug 22.
Independent adviser New Paradigm Securities Bhd had on Aug 4 advised minority shareholders to reject the offer, saying it undervalued the company, and was not fair nor reasonable.
It said the 85 sen per share offer was RM2.25 or 72.58% lower than Kim Hin’s estimated value of RM3.10 per share, and less than half of Kim Hin’s value per share based on a net asset of RM1.88 a share.
The offer was also unreasonable, it said, as the company was still meeting the public shareholding requirements at the time and remained listed.
On Aug 15, when Chua’s stake rose to 67.87%, Kim Hin announced the company’s public shareholding spread had slipped to 24.22%, below the requisite 25% under Main Market Listing Requirements.
“As stated in Section 4 of the offer document, the joint offerors do not intend to maintain the listing status of Kim Hin on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities. The company, if required, will address the matter of the shortfall in the public shareholding spread after the extended closing date,” it said in a bourse filing.
Shares in Kim Hin ended 1.5 sen or 1.78% lower at 83 sen on Friday, valuing the company at RM128.4 million.