Malayan Banking to buy Singapore’s Kim Eng in $1.4-bn deal

Malayan Banking Bhd., Malaysia's biggest bank by assets, today unveiled a S$1.79-billion ($1.4 billion) deal for Singapore securities broker Kim Eng Holdings Ltd.
Malayan or Maybank, as the lender is known, will initially buy a 44.63-per cent stake in Kim Eng for $617 million (S$798 million) in cash and later make a general offer for the remaining stake, valuing the deal at $1.4 billion (S$1.79 billion).

The 44.63-pecent stake is being bought from Yuanta Securities Asia of Taiwan, which holds 29.19 per cent and the remaining 15.44 per cent from Ronald Ooi, chairman and CEO of Kim Eng.

Maybank has offered to pay S$3.10 per share, a premium of 14.8 per cent over Kim Eng's last closing price of S$2.7 per share.

Kim Eng had said in a 17 December 2010 filing that it had been approached by unidentified interested parties in buying its shares that may lead to a general offer.
Today, both financial firm shares were suspended pending an announcement.

Kim Eng is one of Singapore's leading independent securities broking group servicing institutional, corporate, high net worth and retail investors. Its operation spans 10 countries including the financial centres of New York, London and Hong Kong.

It is also a full fledged member of the stock exchanges in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and India.