Analysts say yes to OldTown’s takeover by Dutch firm JDE

KUALA LUMPUR: Analysts are calling on OldTown Bhd’s (OldTown) shareholders to accept the takeover offer by Jacobs Douwe Egberts Holdings Asia NL BV (JDE) on Monday.

To recap, OldTown announced in a bursa filing on Monday that they were approached with an offer for all of its issued ordinary shares at RM3.18 by JDE – an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Danish private company Jacobs Douwe Egbrets BV, who is also the world’s leading pure consumer packaged goods coffee company.

“The price at RM3.18 per share represents a 10.42 per cent premium over the last transacted price of OldTown shares on December 7, 2017 or a total aggregate consideration of approximately RM1.47 billion,” said the press release.

The intention of JDE is to delist and privatise OldTown upon completion of the takeover which according to the research arm of MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd (MIDF Research) would provide greater control and management flexibility in the implementation of any strategic initiatives and operational changes of JDE and OldTown.

“As well as to dispense the compliance costs associated with maintenance of listing status,” said the research arm.

Additionally, MIDF Research also guides that Old Town International Sdn Bhd and Mawer Investment Management Ltd who together have a total holding of 51.45 per cent in OldTown are in full support of the transaction and have irrevocably undertaken to tender all of the shares in acceptance of the offer.

Before the deal can take place, pre-conditions of obtaining the green light from the Competition Commission of Singapore without conditions or on conditions reasonably satisfactory to JDE, and ensuring that the takeover offer does not violate any other appropriate anti-trust authorisations, would need to be met by August 11, 2018.

According to AmInvestment Bank Bhd (AmInvestment Bank), it is unlikely that these pre-conditions will be a stumbling block for the offer as the combined white coffee market share of Singapore currently amounts to 50 per cent – still below the 60 per cent threshold for a possible breach of anti-trust laws.

Deeming the offer price to be reasonable and fair, both AmInvestment Bank and MIDF KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency (MRSA) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in the development of geospatial analytics.

The initiative is expected to enhance the identification and monitoring of financial access points in Malaysia through geospatial technology Research are advocating that OldTown investors accept the offer by JDE of RM3.18 per share due to its attractive premium.

Besides that, MIDF Research also reckoned that the takeover is needed for OldTown in the longterm as the group is in need of expertise to address future challenges of the challenging outlook for its café outlet operation.

This includes the tapering growth of the manufacturing of beverages?f segment in light of the stronger Ringgit which will have a stronger downside impact ton export sales than the benefit gained from a lower and satellite imaging, and in turn, will enable financial institutions to further improve the delivery of financial services to the public.

In addition, a global positioning system-enabled application will be made available for the public to easily locate access points for their financial needs, the central bank said in a statement yesterday.

It said the MoU with MRSA, raw material cost.

“Going forward, OldTown will look to leverage on JDE’s deep global expertise in addressing the challenges and build a highly successful partnership with them,” said the research arm.

In contrast, AmInvestment Bank is of the opinion that even in the event that takeover deal does not materialise, the group is on the brink of a re-rating beyond their current price earnings ratio peg as its fast moving consumer goods segment is making headway into China.

BNM signs MoU with MRSA on development of geospatial analytics

an agency under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, marked the further strengthening of inter-agency cooperation by BNM to advance financial inclusion through technology and innovation.

Deputy Governor, Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abdul Ghaffour, signed on behalf of BNM while MRSA was represented by DirectorGeneral, Azlikamil Napiah. — Bernama