Penguin International looks set to be taken private following an offer by a consortium made up of senior management and a private equity firm.
Dymon Asia fund and Penguin chairman Jeffrey Hing have offered SGD 0.65 ($0.49) for the outstanding shares in the Singapore-listed shipbuilder.
The takeover price for the company is said to represent a premium of 30% over the last transacted share price on 18 December 2020.
Hing owns a 55% stake in Penguin via a Cayman Islands incorporated investment holding company, while Dymon Asia Private Equity (SE Asia) Fund II owns 40%.
“The trading volume of the shares has been low,” the consortium said on its reasons for launching its bid to take the company private.
“The offer therefore provides shareholders who find it difficult to exit the company as a result of the low trading volume with an opportunity to liquidate and realise their investment at a premium to the prevailing market prices,” it said.
The takeover consortium also believes that taking the company private will give the management of the company more flexibility to manage the business, optimise the use of its management and capital resources and facilitate the implementation of any operational change.
“In maintaining its listed status, the company incurs compliance and associated costs. If the company is delisted from the SGX-ST, it will be able to save on those expenses…and focus its resources on its business operations.”
Penguin, which specialises in building and operating aluminum high-speed craft, was listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on 17 October 1997.
Coronavirus and weak oil prices have combined to take a toll on Penguin International’s financial performance, with the company forced to turn to the state for a bridging loan in the summer last year.
Analysts say the sharp plunge in valuations arising from the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a revival in Singapore of merger and acquisition and deals and publicly listed companies going private.
DBS, Singapore’s largest bank, recently said that China's Yangzijiang Shipbuilding ticked all the right boxes as a perfect candidate for being taken private.
