Great Eastern Holdings, whose shares have been suspended since an unsuccessful attempt by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp for full control, is exploring options that include a plan to delist, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Great Eastern may propose delisting the company via an offer by OCBC, which will be higher than the one made by the lender in May last year, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public matters. The offer, which is expected to be fair and reasonable in accordance with the city-state’s listing guidelines, is conditional upon delisting being approved, they said.
An OCBC spokesperson declined to comment. Great Eastern couldn’t be reached for comment.
Any new offer by Singapore’s second-largest lender would represent its fourth attempt to fully take over Great Eastern, after making three bids since 2004. After the close of its last bid, OCBC currently holds almost 94% of the insurer, a level not sufficient to delist the stock nor for a compulsory takeover.
OCBC’s first offer for Great Eastern took place in 2004, followed by another attempt in 2006. Minority shareholders had argued the third offer in May last year was at a discount to the insurer’s embedded value, a metric that’s been used to value other insurers, even though it was at a premium to the last traded price.
Two companies controlled by Lee Thor Seng and his sons, who are members of the clan that founded OCBC, own close to 2% of the insurer, according to the insurer’s latest annual report.
See also: Great Eastern given till Sept 30 to complete proposed transactions
They rank second to OCBC in their Great Eastern ownership. Wong Hong Sun and his brother Hong Yen have about 1%. Palliser Capital, which had called the most recent bid unfair for shareholders, has a 0.27% stake, the report shows.
Great Eastern’s 2024 embedded value rose 4% to S$38.08 a share from a year ago, according to the report. The firm was founded in 1908, and is one of the largest insurers in Singapore and Malaysia with total assets of more than $100 billion. It said during its recent results that the business climate will be challenging in the near to mid-term due to increasing volatility in the global landscape.
