http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...pular-20150115

Unsold units spur S'pore duo to privatise Popular

Published on Jan 15, 2015 1:14 AM

By Marissa Lee


THE controlling shareholder of bookstore owner Popular Holdings intends to make a general offer for the firm so it can delist it.

Grand Apex Holdings, owned by Popular chief executive Chou Cheng Ngok and his wife, Ms Hu Nan Lee, will lodge a conditional cash offer to all shareholders of 32 cents a share. This is a 39 per cent premium over the 23-cent closing price on Tuesday, the last day the stock traded.

Popular shares have not traded at or above the offer price in seven years while trading volume has been "generally low", noted broker CIMB Bank in the announcement posted to the Singapore Exchange yesterday.

Popular's average daily turnover over the past 12 months has been at around 308,000 shares, only 0.1 per cent of the group's publicly held capital, and just 0.04 per cent of the total issued shares, said CIMB.

Mr Chou and his wife are the main shareholders of the firm, with a combined stake of 61.2 per cent held through their World Holdings company.

Grand Apex believes privatisation will relieve Popular of compliance costs that come with its listing status. Under weak market conditions, the group has had difficulties marketing and selling unsold units in its property developments within the timeframe required under the Government's Qualifying Certificate.

As at October 31 last year, 21 units of a total 26 units of the property Ei8ht Raja remained unsold. Popular would incur additional expenses for the extension of time to sell the unsold units, as the Qualifying Certificate (QC) stipulates all units must be sold within two years from May 28, 2013, the date of the issue of the Temporary Occupation Permit.

Once Popular is wholly owned by Singaporeans, it will be in a position to seek exemption from the QC rules.

Trading of Popular shares was halted yesterday. The offer announcement was made after the market closed.

[email protected]