Latest NZ$2.80-per-share offer by CDL Kiwi unit still ‘too low and inadequate': M&C New Zealand
'While the independent directors welcome the increase in the offer, we believe it is still too low and inadequate,' Leslie Preston, chair of the independent directors committee of MCK, wrote in a letter to shareholders of the company on Monday (Apr 28).
The statement also noted that an independent adviser assessed a value range of NZ$4.40 to NZ$5 apiece, with a midpoint of NZ$4.70 per share – which continues to reflect a significant distance from the new offer price.
Other reasons mentioned for not accepting the increase in offer include how it undervalues recent capital expenditure on key hotels, and how it continues to be at a material discount to the market value of MCK's net assets, significantly undervaluing the NZ$129.5 million (S$101.1 million) of recent acquisitions made by MCK.
The group on Apr 22 gave notice that it had increased the offer price to acquire all of the shares in MCK from NZ$2.25 to NZ$2.80 apiece. The offer closes on May 8.
CDLHH NZ, which is CDL's wholly owned subsidiary, said that it will not raise the offer price further under the increased offer.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
After receiving overseas investment office consent, the Kiwi unit of CDL waived all of the remaining conditions of the new offer, including the 90 per cent minimum acceptance condition.
This means that the increased offer is now unconditional, and it will not make another takeover offer under the Takeovers Code for at least nine months from Apr 22.
Earlier on Jan 20, CDL said a decision was made with a view to delist and privatise MCK, at NZ$2.25 a share. MCK rejected the offer on Feb 10, on the basis that the price was not sufficiently reflective of the value of its hotel and property net assets.
MCK's largest institutional shareholder, Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has stated it will not be accepting the new increased offer.
ACC is a large institutional fund with a long-term investment horizon, which holds approximately 4.5 per cent of the ordinary shares.
'Other holders of ordinary shares may not have the same investment horizon (too),' said Preston.
Preston also flagged a number of potential consequences which could affect minority shareholders if under the increased offer the threshold necessary to acquire the remaining shares is not met.
This mainly regards how liquidity for the shares of MCK would likely decrease on the New Zealand Exchange, its trading price may fall below the new offer price, and that there is no certainty that CDL's Kiwi unit will make another takeover offer.
'We encourage shareholders to consider these factors in light of their own circumstances as they decide whether or not to accept the increased offer,' said Preston.
Shares of CDL were trading at 1.2 per cent or S$0.06 lower at S$4.93 as at 4.20 pm on Monday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
21 hours ago
- Straits Times
‘Disastrous, useless': New Zealand to overhaul high school qualification to lift falling standards
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Headmaster of privately-run Scots College Graeme Yule welcomed the reforms for adding more rigour and competition into the system. – Disastrous, terrible and useless. This is how Dr Jamie Beaton, co-founder of consultancy Crimson Education, described New Zealand's high school national qualification, which has been put on the chopping block by the Education Minister recently. Dr Beaton, who has 11 degrees from top universities around the world including Harvard and Oxford, did not hold back as he described to The Straits Times how grade inflation and dependence on internal assessments had made 'school easy' and the qualification 'fairly worthless' on the world stage. The chief executive of Crimson Education, which helps high school students from New Zealand and other countries, including Singapore, secure places at the world's top universities, has long viewed the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) as putting local students at a disadvantage. It has been the main qualification for high school students since 2002. NCEA was designed to be flexible and standards-based, catering to both academic and vocational pathways , including trades, hospitality and tourism . Each standard represents a specific set of skills and knowledge, and students earn credits when they achieve those standards. When they accumulate enough credits, they will earn an NCEA certificate or endorsement. Both internal assessments and external exams contribute to students' final grades. 'We do send plenty of NCEA students abroad, but it is fundamentally a major disadvantage,' said Dr Beaton , adding that it is little surprise that leading Kiwi schools offer their students the Cambridge A-Level exam or the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme. CEO of Crimson Education Jamie Beaton, who has 11 degrees from top universities globally, described NCEA as a major disadvantage when applying for universities overseas. PHOTO: CRIMSON EDUCATION He urged a return to robust, standardised external examinations to bring the average New Zealand student 'close to being globally competitive' and stop the slide in the country's university standards over the years. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 18 persons nabbed and 82 vapes seized in HSA ops in Raffles Place and Haji Lane Singapore 3 Sengkang Green Primary pupils suspended for bullying classmate, with 1 of them caned: MOE Singapore Woman trapped between train doors: Judge rules SBS Transit '100% responsible' Singapore Religion growing in importance for Singaporeans: IPS study Life Record number of arts patrons in 2024, but overall donation dips to $45.74m Life 'Loss that's irreplaceable': Local film-makers mourn closure of Singapore indie cinema The Projector Singapore Nearly 2 years' jail, caning for man caught with at least 100 sexually explicit videos of children Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch Addressing the mounting concerns about NCEA's credibility, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford announced on Aug 4 sweeping reforms to the national qualification. Under the plan, NCEA will be replaced by a more traditional subject-based qualification for Years 11 to 13 (ages 15 to 18). Students would study five core subjects per year, with learning assessed mainly through national external examinations in Years 12 and 13. This marks a big shift away from NCEA's current credit-based model where students take a mix of internal assessments, projects and exams. The reforms aim to address the longstanding criticism that NCEA is too fragmented and inconsistent, allowing students to 'credit shop' by picking easier assessments to pass. Ms Stanford said: 'I didn't know why you can get credits for having a part-time job or filling in forms, and I didn't understand why kids say that they don't need to go to exams or participate in chunks of their learning because they already have enough credits.' The new system will also introduce an A-to-E grading scale from zero to 100, eliminating the current grading of 'unachieved, achieved, merit and excellence'. The government hopes the new grading would be easier to understand for parents, employers and overseas universities. The reforms, under consultation until mid-September, are set for a phased roll-out from 2028 to 2030. The new curriculum will be taught from 2026 and will affect students entering Year 9 that year. Since coming to power in late 2023, the coalition government led by the National Party has made lifting educational standards its education priority amid concerns over declining achievement statistics. It has introduced new mathematics and English curricula and made teaching structured literacy skills compulsory in primary schools. It has also stopped building open-layout classrooms as they were too noisy and distracting for children. Despite these changes, concerns remain about student outcomes at the high school level. New Zealand high schoolers recorded their worst-ever results in the last Programme for International Student Assessment released in December 2023, including a significant 15-point drop in maths score. The international study, conducted every three years by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, placed Singapore at the top of the league among 81 countries in maths, science and reading. New Zealand ranked 10th in reading, 11th in science and 23rd in maths. In addition, the latest school-leaver data in New Zealand also underscores the urgency for reform. Despite a slight improvement in 2024, achievement levels have been declining since 2020, with only 55.5 per cent leaving school with an NCEA Level 3 qualification (equivalent to A-level) in 2024. Mr Graeme Yule, headmaster of Scots College in Wellington, told ST that under the current system, many students skip exams and some schools stop their students from taking external exams to increase their pass rate. Scots College is a private school that offers both NCEA and IB programmes. Welcoming the reforms, Mr Yule said: 'I like the fact they are adding more rigour. I like the fact that students are going to have to sit some comparable exams so we can compare students. I like the fact that there is some competitiveness in the system.' Parent Ho Li Ling, a 44-year-old finance professional, agreed that credit counting under NCEA has been confusing. She has heard from her daughters of classmates choosing easier subjects to earn credits, and even of students who had attained enough credits by Year 12 that they spent their final year 'hanging around' without needing to complete further assessments or exams. 'NCEA feels like a fake comfort zone, misleading students to think life is about choosing an easy path,' she said. Universities New Zealand, the peak body for the country's eight universities, and the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) are among stakeholders that have voiced support for the changes in high school education . EMA advocacy and stakeholder engagement lead Joanna Hall described the switch to internationally benchmarked qualifications as 'promising'. She added that 'we have consistent feedback from our members that school-leavers are not work-ready, citing low levels of communication, digital literacy and fundamental reading and maths skills'. Universities NZ chief executive Chris Whelan said the changes appeared to address concerns about NCEA's lack of focus in developing deep knowledge and critical thinking needed to prepare students for university. But he hopes to see more details of the new programme. 'We don't yet know what those subjects will be, or how they will relate to letting students know they are ready for entry into university studies.' Not everyone agrees that the changes are the best way forward. Calling the overhaul 'a return to the factory model and a big step backwards', the principal of state-funded Wellington High School, Mr Dominic Killalea, warned that 'it risks alienating so many learners who thrive in the current system'. In his message to parents, which he shared with ST, Mr Killalea defended internal assessments, saying they allow students to demonstrate their depth of knowledge beyond a three-hour pen-and-paper exam. He noted that the strength of NCEA lies in its flexibility to combine standards and create courses that are more appealing to students than some traditional subjects, or that prepare them for pathways beyond school. 'Narrowing curriculum implies a hierarchy of knowledge and risks marginalising areas such as the arts,' he said. Jordan Turner, 17, who is in Year 12 in 2025 , disagreed with the views that NCEA is broken or confusing. 'I understand why people say NCEA is too easy compared with A levels or IB, as it sounds like the workload and expectations aren't the same. However, I'm not complaining because it makes balancing school, extracurriculars and life in general more manageable,' he said. Parent and homemaker Bai Ling, 50, who has two school-going daughters, is sceptical that the reforms will deliver their goals. 'Are the teachers prepared enough to step up to the task? Without a concrete curriculum to show, how can teachers deliver effectively?' she asked. Mr Chris Abercrombie, president of the Post Primary Teachers' Association – which represents more than 25,000 secondary teachers – said the proposed changes have been talked about in recent years but have not been implemented or resourced adequately. 'The lack of adequate support for (NCEA), and political flip-flopping… mean teachers are left trying to fill the gaps. We need stability and certainty,' he said in a media statement. While the parents Mr Yule spoke to are supportive of the changes to reverse the decline in educational standards , he said they are concerned about the impact on their children, particularly in the interim period. This may push them to choose IB because of the uncertainty. 'There is no guarantee that this government will even be in power when those changes come. We could have a change of government, and we could have more uncertainty over the next few years,' Mr Yule added.
Business Times
13-08-2025
- Business Times
Singapore stocks track regional gains; STI up 1.2%
[SINGAPORE] Shares on the local bourse ended higher on Wednesday (Aug 13), following three consecutive sessions of declines. The rebound came as regional markets also closed higher, buoyed by the latest US inflation data that raised expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates next month. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 1.2 per cent or 52.04 points to close at 4,272.76. The top gainer on the index was (CDL), which rose 7.1 per cent or S$0.45 to S$6.80. At the bottom of the index was Wilmar International , which slid 1 per cent or S$0.03 to S$2.94, despite having reported a 2.6 per cent rise in net profit to US$594.9 million for the first half ended Jun 30. The three local banks gained ground on Wednesday. DBS climbed 1 per cent or S$0.49 to S$51.45, UOB was up 0.9 per cent or S$0.32 to S$36.19 and OCBC rose 0.4 per cent or S$0.06 to S$16.81. Across the broader market, gainers edged out losers 391 to 185, after 1.9 billion securities worth S$2 billion were traded. Elsewhere in the region, key indices ended in the black. South Korea's Kospi rose by 1.1 per cent, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.3 per cent, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI climbed 1.2 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index saw the biggest increase, up 2.6 per cent. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up These regional gains come amid US consumer prices rising at a solid monthly rate of 0.2 per cent. This was 'largely in line with expectations', leading to unchanged headline and slightly higher core inflation rates than in the previous month, said David Kohl, chief economist at Julius Baer. Headline inflation stayed at 2.7 per cent, while core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, accelerated from 2.9 per cent in May to 3.1 per cent in June. Kohl noted that prices of items potentially affected by higher tariffs, such as apparel and electronics, have gone up slightly in the US. 'These scattered signs suggest that tariffs are driving up the prices of a number of goods,' he said, adding that inflation remains closer to 3 per cent than to the US Federal Reserve's target of 2 per cent. 'We expect more signs of slowing demand and a softer labour market in the coming weeks,' he said. In the absence of significant tariff-induced inflation spikes and with a rather gradual and transitory upside risk to inflation from tariffs, Kohl said the Federal Reserve is most likely to resume its rate cuts at the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting in September.
Business Times
13-08-2025
- Business Times
CDL H1 profit up 3.9% at S$91.2 million on robust condo sales; declares higher special dividend of S$0.03 per share
[SINGAPORE] Property developer City Developments Ltd (CDL) posted a 3.9 per cent year-on-year rise in first-half net profit to S$91.2 million on Wednesday (Aug 13). This was up from S$87.8 million in the first half of 2024. It translates to a basic earnings per share (EPS) of S$0.097 against an EPS of S$0.092 in the year-ago period. H1 revenue was up 8 per cent at S$1.69 billion, driven by CDL's fully sold joint venture executive condominium project, Copen Grand, which was completed in April 2025, and other contributing projects. The board declared a special interim dividend of S$0.03 per share, a slight increase from S$0.02 per share a year prior. The group paid a dividend of S$0.0193 per preference share in June, calculated at the dividend rate of 3.9 per cent per annum for the period from Dec 31, 2024, to Jun 29, 2025. The dividend was paid on Jun 30, 2025. This was marginally down from 2024's first half preference dividend of S$0.0194 at the same rate. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The group said it continues to have a key focus on capital recycling, with over S$1.5 billion in divestments achieved in the year to date. It anticipates a further gain of S$465 million from the sale of its 50.1 per cent stake in the South Beach mixed-use development in Q3 2025. A net foreign exchange gain of S$51.3 million last year reversed to a loss of S$63.1 million in the first half of this year, as the depreciation of the US dollar (USD) significantly affected the group. This was primarily due to USD-denominated intercompany loans extended to fund previous US hotel acquisitions and working capital requirements. Combined with weaker performance from the hotel operations segment in Singapore and the US, as well as inflationary cost pressures, it meant that the segment reported a pre-tax loss of S$84.4 million for H1. The property development segment was once again the largest revenue contributor with a 24.3 per cent jump, driven by Singapore projects such as The Myst, the divestment of the Ransome's Wharf site in London and the sale of the office component of Suzhou Hong Leong City Center in China. It added that the July increase in seller's stamp duty holding period from three to four years in Singapore, and a 4 per cent rate increase for each tier of the holding period is not expected to significantly affect the residential property market. It said that this was because most purchasers were citizens or permanent residents, buying for their own stay or long-term investment. CDL's counter closed flat at S$6.35 Tuesday. In July, long-time member Philip Yeo stepped down from the CDL board, having notably backed executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng's bitter boardroom battle against his son, CEO Sherman Kwek , in early 2025. In a statement on Wednesday, the elder Kwek said that CDL's executives have 'put past issues behind us' and that the 'board and management are aligned and focused on effective execution and value creation'. He had announced his goal of trebling the group's hotel numbers to 500 earlier this month. CDL currently has over 160 hotels in its portfolio. The younger Kwek, concurring with his father's sentiments, said: 'Despite some instability in the earlier part of the year due to internal issues, the ensuing period has been marked by stabilisation, renewed alignment and disciplined execution.' He added: 'While the operating environment remains fluid, the potential easing of interest rates offers further upside as we continue to pursue our capital recycling and fund management initiatives.' Office portfolio For its Singapore office portfolio, the group achieved a committed occupancy rate of 97 per cent, driven by high occupancy rates in Republic Plaza, City House and South Beach. It said the group had 'healthy' rental reversions for its wholly owned office assets. The office portfolio in China registered a committed occupancy of 58.5 per cent, which the group said was due to 'continued market softness'. Hotel operations In H1, Singapore hotels experienced a 13.6 per cent year-on-year decline in revenue per available room, or RevPar, to S$148, due to fewer large-scale events compared with 2024, such as the Taylor Swift concert. The Singapore hotels were also exposed to the shipping industry which caused a decline in occupancy due to challenges for the sector amidst global turmoil, said the group. In contrast, the rest of Asia saw a 1 per cent increase in RevPar in H1 compared with a year earlier to S$104.3, driven by M Social Phuket's significant growth in both average room rate and occupancy, as well as improvements at hotels in Jakarta and Manila. In its other markets, Australasia hotels saw its RevPar rise 11.1 per cent in H1, while Europe hotels saw a 5.4 per cent increase in RevPar over the same period. For its Singapore retail portfolio, the group registered a committed occupancy of 97 per cent for H1. Debt profile The group said it had a net gearing ratio of 70 per cent, with average borrowing costs falling to 4 per cent from 4.4 per cent in the year-ago period, after interest rate cuts across multiple jurisdictions the group operates in. The group maintains 'robust' capital position with cash reserves of S$1.8 billion and S$3.5 billion in cash and available undrawn committed bank facilities. 'The group will continue to focus on optimising its portfolio and unlocking capital for more productive use, such as selective acquisitions, debt reduction, paying dividends and facilitating share buybacks,' CDL added.
