Great Eastern resumes trading after year-long suspension; opens at S$13.2 following bonus issue

[SINGAPORE] Great Eastern Holdings (GEH) resumed trading on Thursday (Aug 21) after a proposed bonus share issue lifted its free float to above 10 per cent.

It was suspended from trading in July 2024 after its free float fell below 10 per cent, following a failed takeover bid by parent company OCBC.

The insurer failed to pass a delisting vote at its extraordinary general meeting last month, which led to the passing of a resolution for a one-for-one bonus issue. It comprised new ordinary shares and newly created Class C non-voting shares, from which shareholders could choose. OCBC undertook to opt for such shares for its bonus entitlement, so as to increase the public float.

Its shares resumed trading on Thursday morning at S$13.21, 48.8 per cent down from its July 2024 closing price of S$25.80.

How the year-long trading suspension unfolded

Parent company OCBC in May last year made a voluntary unconditional general offer at S$25.60 a share for the remaining 11.56 per cent stake in Great Eastern that it did not already own, aiming to delist the insurer.

The offer was deemed “not fair but reasonable” by EY, the independent financial adviser to the transaction.

The privatisation bid failed and left OCBC holding 93.52 per cent of GEH shares, but was short of the 98.87 per cent compulsory acquisition threshold. This milestone would have triggered a compulsory acquisition of GEH shares that OCBC did not already hold.

Subsequently, OCBC at the request of GE made a S$900 million conditional exit offer of S$30.15 per share for the 6.28 per cent stake in Great Eastern it did not own. This new offer was termed “fair and reasonable” by EY. But this was rejected by shareholders, who then voted in favour of the bonus issue.

Most recently, Great Eastern’s Q2 earnings were down 11% at S$248.2 million due to a lower contribution from its insurance business.