Strategy (M&A)- Property

Strategy (M&A)- Property: SGX stirred back to life recently on the back of several big privatization and acquisition deals. This included UIC-SingLand, Temasek-Olam, CapitaLand-CMA and Ong Beng Seng/Wheelock-HPL. OCBC believes that privatization in the property sector could be an ongoing theme, with the substantial discount to RNAV that the counters are trading at present opportunities to take these companies private. Among of the potential targets are property companies where a small group of owners hold majority stakes such as GuocoLeisure, Pan Pacific Hotel, and Global Premium Hotel. Other potential targets are Ho Bee, currently trading at a ~33% discount to its book value and whose parent Ho Bee Holdings now hold over 72% of the company, and Bukit Sembawang, whose controlling Lee family owns a stake in excess of 40%.