SINGAPORE: The company behind supermarket staples like OWL 3-in-1 coffee and Super Cup has received a takeover offer of S$1.45 billion from Dutch tea and coffee company Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE).
The Singapore food and beverage firm, which has operations across Asia, said in a Singapore Exchange (SGX) filing on Thursday (Nov 3) that JDE has made a cash offer of S$1.30 for each share – a 34 per cent premium over Super’s last traded price of S$0.97 on Oct 31.
Shareholders who own about 60 per cent of Super’s total share capital have already pledged to sell all their shares to JDE, subject to regulatory approvals.
The offer represents one of the highest premiums paid in recent Singapore public market takeover history, according to Mr Keith Magnus, the CEO of Evercore Asia, which brokered the deal.
Super’s shareholders include Singapore food and beverage firm Yeo Hiap Seng, which has a 12 per cent stake. In a separate filing to SGX, Yeo Hiap Seng said it would realise a gain of about S$138.35 million from the sale of its stake to JDE.
Super, which was recognised as Malaysia’s largest coffee manufacturer in September by the Malaysian Book of Records, saw a 7 per cent fall in its earnings in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, from S$10.5 million to S$9.8 million.
JDE said it plans to delist and privatise the company to gain greater control and management flexibility.
