Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) on Monday (Jun 23) said that it has no intention to make another offer to buy the rest of Great Eastern in the future in the event shareholders opted to not delist the insurer from the Singapore bourse.
OCBC was responding to a media report saying that it can still propose to take Great Eastern private when its non-voting shares are due in five years if the latest delisting proposal by Great Eastern cannot be achieved in an EGM on Jul 8.
OCBC, Singapore’s second-largest lender, said in a stock exchange filing that it has no intention to convert its non-voting shares to ordinary shares on or after five years as it would result in Great Eastern losing its free float again.
OCBC would opt to receive the non-voting shares to help restore the free float and a resumption in trading of Great Eastern if the delisting proposal by the insurer is not achieved.
Great Eastern on Jun 6 proposed to delist from the domestic bourse by way of its largest shareholder OCBC offering S$900 million (US$696 million) to buy the rest of the insurer it does not already own.
Trading in Singapore-based Great Eastern’s shares was suspended on Jul 15, 2024, after its free float fell below 10 per cent following an offer by OCBC to acquire an 11.56 per cent stake at S$25.60 apiece in May 2024.
OCBC had obtained acceptance from some shareholders and currently owns 93.72 per cent of Great Eastern.
“Delisting GEH is a long-term strategic goal of OCBC,” OCBC said, referring Great Eastern as GEH. It said it is satisfied with its 93.72 per cent economic interests since October 2024 regardless of the outcome of the EGM to vote on the proposed delisting on Jul 8.
