Singapore Paincare receives privatisation offer at S$0.16 per share
[SINGAPORE] Medical-services company Singapore Paincare has received an acquisition bid for S$0.16 a share from Advance Bridge Healthcare, a management consultancy for healthcare services.
This values the company at US$25.7 million, comprising 171 million shares, and represents a premium of 27 per cent over Singapore Paincare's last traded price of S$0.126 on Monday (May 26).
The company requested for a trading halt on Tuesday, almost three months after it first announced via a bourse filing in March that it had been approached for a possible transaction involving its shares.
The offer price of S$0.16 represents a 77.8 per cent over Singapore's Paincare's closing price on Mar 3, which was when it first announced that a possible deal was in the works.
If the transaction goes through after the necessary regulatory approvals are obtained, Singapore Paincare will be delisted from the Singapore Exchange's Catalist board, the company said on Wednesday in a bourse filing.
Singapore Paincare said that it has agreed to the proposed acquisition by Advance Bridge Healthcare because it was an opportunity for shareholders to realise their investment at a premium over the counter's historically traded prices.
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It added that there was no necessity for the company to raise funds through equity capital markets.
Since its initial public offering in 2020, the company has not carried out any exercise to raise equity capital through the Singapore Exchange, except for a share placement exercise in the last year, said the company.
Advance Bridge Healthcare also believes that Singapore Paincare is unlikely to require access to Singapore equity capital markets to finance its operations in the foreseeable future, given that it may tap other funding sources such as bank borrowings. The company thus said it is not necessary for it to maintain its listing on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange.
It has also incurred compliance and other costs associated with continuing the listing requirements under the Singapore Exchange.
If the company is delisted, it will save on expenses and costs relating to the maintenance of its listed status and channel such resources to its business operations, read the filing.
Under the terms of the agreement, Advance Bridge Healthcare has the right to switch its offer to a voluntary conditional cash offer or a pre-conditional voluntary cash offer.
Shares of Singapore Paincare closed flat at S$0.14 on Tuesday before the trading halt was requested.
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