Keppel Land Rises Most in Five Years on $2.4 Billion Buyout Plan

By Kyunghee Park

Keppel Land Ltd., the property arm of Keppel Corp. (KEP), jumped the most in more than five years in Singapore trading after its biggest shareholder offered as much as S$3.23 billion ($2.4 billion) to buy shares it doesn’t own.
Keppel Land gained as much as 25 percent, the biggest intraday climb since May 2009, to S$4.55 and traded at S$4.54 as of 9:22 a.m. in Singapore. Keppel Corp. advanced as much as 2.2 percent. The stocks resumed trading today after their suspensions on Jan. 21.
“A privatization offer is likely to succeed given the premiums Keppel Corp. has offered relative to Keppel Land’s recent trading history,” analysts Evon Tan and David Lum at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. in Singapore said in a Jan. 23 report. “Trading sentiment in Singapore developers, particularly those seen by the market as possible privatization candidates, will likely see
some uplift in trading sentiment.”
Keppel has restructured its assets in telecommunications and infrastructure businesses last year through mergers and pulling them into trusts. Chief Executive Officer Loh Chin Hua said Friday the company wants to become one of the world’s top conglomerates, with businesses ranging from oil rigs to property, infrastructure and logistics.

Photographer: Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg

Loh Chin Hua, chief executive officer of Keppel Corp., said Friday the company wants to... Read More

The rig builder said last week that it will offer as much as S$4.60 a share for the developer’s stock. That was a premium of 26 percent based on Keppel Land’s last trading price of S$3.65 on Jan. 20 in the city.