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Raider pulls out of NatSteel running
By Alex Frew McMillan
SINGAPORE (CNN) -- Corporate raider Oei Hong Leong says he will not launch a general offer for steel producer NatSteel Ltd., reducing the chance of a bidding war for the company. Through financial adviser G.K. Goh Stockbrokers, Oei said late on Monday that he "currently does not intend to make a general offer" for the company. That has driven NatSteel's stock lower on Tuesday morning, down 0.49 percent to S$2.04, with the Straits Times index off 0.11 percent. Investors had been hoping to see the stock run up as the bidding intensified between Oei and a rival bid by 98 Holdings Pte. Ltd. That company, backed by hotelier Ong Beng Seng and government investment body Temasek Holdings, on Monday raised its offer for the company by two cents a share, to S$2.05, and extended it through December 23. (Full story) Similar stakes in companyBoth Oei and Ong control just under 30 percent of the company, the level at which investors in Singapore must make a general offer to buy the remaining shares. But Oei said he will not make a general offer, while adding he also will not accept the 98 Holdings offer. That makes it much harder for 98 Holdings to corner the 51 percent of the stock it needs to take control of the company. Oei, through his investment company Sanion Enterprises, is now pushing NatSteel to pay a special dividend. He is also calling for an extraordinary general meeting to vote for nine new board members. Oei hopes he can wrest control of the board and push the company to pay a dividend of S$1.55 per share, "or such other amount as may be recommended by the board." NatSteel would fund the dividend by selling two subsidiaries. NatSteel shares have more than doubled in 2002, having begun the year at S$0.885. Oei's interest has pushed 98 Holdings to raise its offer 6.2 percent, from an initial S$1.93.
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