Singapore’s United Engineers said on Tuesday its subsidiary WBL Corporation was selling its luxury car business to StarChase Motorsports (Singapore) for $455 million.
The company said the sale was part of its plan to exit from non-core business operations.
United Engineers shares, which were halted for trading on Monday, rose 1.45% in early trade and then turned flat. On Friday, they had climbed as much as 14%.
News of the sale comes as Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp is in talks with a group linked to Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi to sell its stake in United Engineers.
OCBC, along with related companies, owns around 36% of United Engineers, according to United Engineers’ most recent annual report. Buying more than 30% of the shares would trigger a mandatory takeover for the company.
OCBC said on Thursday that the discussions were at a preliminary stage.
WBL, which is 67.6% owned by United Engineers, imports and distributes luxury cars across Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The automotive business generated an operating profit of $6.23 million in the first half of 2014 on revenues of $446.84 million.
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