Thumbs up for SPH Reit from shareholders

Thumbs up for SPH Reit from shareholders
PHOTO: Thumbs up for SPH Reit from shareholders

SINGAPORE - Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) shareholders gave an emphatic green light on Tuesday for the media group to put its retail malls into a real estate investment trust (Reit) and pay a special dividend.

Shareholders voted overwhelmingly for the proposed Reit deal at a 90-minute long extraordinary general meeting (EGM), with 99.79 per cent of votes cast in favour.

SPH chairman Lee Boon Yang said the transaction will offer shareholders the chance to "have (their) cake and eat it too".

"SPH shareholders will get to enjoy the best of both worlds: The special dividend will reward you for your investment in SPH, and you will be able to participate in the performance and growth of SPH Reit."

SPH is set to retain a 70 per cent stake in the Reit post-listing, allowing SPH shareholders to continue to benefit from the group's majority ownership of quality properties through new revenue streams, Dr Lee said.

Last month, SPH announced plans to inject its retail malls, including the upmarket Paragon, into a billion-dollar Reit, with the listing happening as soon as early next month.

Under the deal, SPH will sell Paragon and Clementi Mall to the Reit for $2.5 billion and $570.5 million respectively.

On Tuesday, shareholders also gave the thumbs up to the proposed special dividend of 18 cents a share, to be paid out once the listing is completed. Of the votes cast, 99.94 per cent were in favour of the payout.

Questions raised at the EGM at the News Centre in Toa Payoh North included the timing of the listing, given the current overall equity market turbulence,and whether SPH will eventually evolve into a property group.

On the recent change in market conditions, Dr Lee said the board will continue to monitor market developments closely, with the final decision taken in the best interests of shareholders and the company.

On SPH's future direction, he said: "Media will remain at the heart and core of our business... Property is an additional wing that is promising and has given us good bottom-line support over the years."

Dr Lee also said the plan was to bulk up the Reit with more properties in the future, with retail ones not just in Singapore, but also in the region.

Shareholders also asked whether they would be offered preferential allotment of units in the upcoming Reit listing.

Dr Lee said this was an option the board had considered, but added: "We feel that SPH shareholders would be better off with a direct cash reward... it is a cleaner and more straightforward mechanism."

One shareholder, Ms Y.C. Yeo, 34, who was among the 550 present yesterday, said the planned 18 cent payout was reasonable, given the current volatile market conditions.

Another shareholder, Mr C.L. Chia, 80, said the proposed listing will "put the company on a stronger position for future growth and acquisitions".

On Tuesday, SPH shares closed three cents up at $4.33.

alfoo@sph.com.sg

jonkwok@sph.com.sg


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