Willowglen shareholders may be disappointed

KUALA LUMPUR: Willowglen MSC Bhd shareholders, who have been anticipating a corporate exercise in line with the 77% year-to-date rise in the share price of the supervisory and security solutions firm, may end up being disappointed.

They received a mandatory takeover offer (MTO) yesterday from New Advent Sdn Bhd, a company owned by the family of Willowglen group managing director Wong Ah Chiew. However, the 80-sen per share cash offer is 40% below the previous day’s closing price of RM1.34. (Monday was the last full trading day. The trading of Willowglen shares was suspended yesterday pending the announcement of the MTO.)

Willowglen, which offers supervisory control and data acquisition systems and integrated security solutions, told Bursa Malaysia that New Advent was making the takeover offer for shares representing about 45% of the company’s issued shares (excluding treasury shares) not already held by the offeror and its persons acting in concert .

That means the Wong family is prepared to fork out RM87.6mil for the rest of the shares they do not own, totalling 109.5 million.

New Advent was required to make the offer after it signed share sale agreements yesterday to buy 22.92% of Willowglen’s issued share capital for RM44.61mil or 80 sen per share.