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The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Aug 08, 2012
Oei woos Intraco again after cashing out
By lee su shyan money editor
JUST as the Heineken deal for Asia Pacific Breweries took a surprising turn yesterday, the sale of a stake in trading firm Intraco also saw an unexpected development, albeit on a smaller scale.
Businessman Oei Hong Leong yesterday re-entered the fray when he said he wanted to buy Hanwell Holdings' 29.89 per cent stake in Intraco for 63 cents each.
This is the same stake Hanwell had agreed to sell to the family investment vehicle TH Investment that controls crane operator Tat Hong Holdings early in June.
Then, Hanwell had announced it was selling the stake in Intraco for 62 cents a share, or $18.28 million in all. At 62 cents, the price was more than twice Intraco's last traded price then, of 30 cents.
Mr Oei then made a surprise foray into Intraco, around the time that the deal was inked, which is subject to shareholders' approval. He bought 6.78 million Intraco shares on the open market at 50.03 cents apiece, plus a married deal for 14,047,323 shares at 50 cents each. He also bought 161,000 shares on June 22, but no price was disclosed. In all, he built up a stake of 21 per cent.
In the 1970s, Mr Oei ran one of the largest trading businesses in Indonesia, importing steel for government companies, and his firm dealt often with Intraco. He had said that he had bought the shares as it was like his "first love".
But last month, in another surprising twist, Mr Oei sold off this 21 per cent stake to Mr Tony Chew, executive chairman of investment firm Asia Resource Corporation.
Now a month later, Mr Oei is back in the fray.
Although the Hanwell sale to TH Investment was announced earlier, it has not been completed yet. Hanwell still has to seek the approval of its shareholders for the sale, due to take place on Aug 17. But Mr Oei's actions change the position again, as Hanwell now stands to get an extra cent per share if it takes his offer instead of the 62 cents that TH Investment is paying.
It looks likely that Hanwell will have to revise its proposal and put both proposals to the shareholders so that they can choose between the deals.
If Mr Oei succeeds in buying over this Intraco stake, he is also planning to make an offer for the rest of the shares of Intraco.
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