Perennial, Yanlord-led consortium offers to buy United Engineers

At the offer prices, the group is valuing 100 percent of UE and 29.9 percent of WBL at about S$1.83 billion.

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A woman passes a view of private residential condominiums on the fringe of the central business district in Singapore. REUTERS

A consortium led by Singapore-listed property developers Perennial Real Estate Holdings and Yanlord Land Group has offered to buy United Engineers (UE).

The consortium will buy a 33.5 percent stake in UE from Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and its insurance arm at $2.60 a share, according to a company statement.

The consortium intends to make a mandatory general offer for the rest of the property development and hospitality company at the same price.

The consortium has acquired a 10 percent stake in United Engineers' unit WBL Corp and may additionally acquire another 19.9 percent stake in the firm.

At the offer prices, the group is valuing 100 percent of UE and 29.9 percent of WBL at about S$1.83 billion.

Yanlord owns 49 percent of the consortium, while Perennial owns 45 percent. The remaining 6 percent is held by Heng Yue Holdings, which is solely owned by Chinese investor Kung Chun Lung.

The consortium plan to fund the deal via a combination of cash reserves, debt market capital fundraising and external bank financing, it said in a statement.

At 0456 GMT, shares of United Engineers slipped 2.2 percent, Yanlord Land Group was down 2 percent while Perennial Real Estate Holdings gained 1.7 percent.

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