Guoco’s privatisation plan falls through

KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed privatisation of Hong Kong-listed Gouco Group Ltd by GuoLine Overseas Ltd has fallen through after failing to obtain the support of shareholders.

In a joint filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday, GuoLine and Guoco announced that the proposed scheme arrangement for the privatisation had failed to receive 75% of the votes attaching to the scheme shares held by the independent scheme shareholders at the court meeting.

“The scheme was not approved at the court meeting and it cannot be put into effect and hence has lapsed,” the public announcement by Guoco on the stock exchange said.

GuoLine, a unit of Hong Leong Co (M) Bhd, has a 73% majority stake in Guoco. On June 29, 2018, it had proposed the scheme arrangement in a bid to take Guoco private and de-list it from the stock exchange.

The scheme entailed the payment of a special dividend of 291.12 million shares in Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd to share- holders in return for shares GuoLine did not own in the company.

The amount payable assuming all the entitled shareholders had opted for a cash alternative would have been about HK$12.49bil.

In view of the announcement, trading in Guoco’s shares was halted on Thursday and it resumed on Friday.

After the privatisation plan fell through, Guoco’s shares had plunged 23.65% at press time to HK$100.40 following the resumption of trading on Friday.