KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd’s (CCB) share price has climbed 31% in less than three weeks, following the second failed takeover by its major shareholder Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd (Jardine CCL) on June 4.

The stock breached the RM3 mark to close at a four-year high of RM3.14, up 19 sen or 6.4%. The Mercedes Benz distributor is now valued at RM316.34 million compared with the valuation of RM241.79 million based on Jardine CCL’s offer price of RM2.40.

Year to date, the counter has shot up 79% from last year’s closing of RM1.75 on Dec 31, 2020.

Unlike the previous round, the counter has been staying at above the offer price of RM2.40 even after the offer lapsed on June 4.

In March, Jardine CCL, which currently controls an 88.04% stake, launched a fresh takeover offer at a higher offer price of RM2.40, at a 42.8% premium over the market price of RM1.68 then.  

The first takeover offer was at RM2.20 via a proposed selective capital reduction and repayment exercise in November 2019.

Minority shareholders blocked the privatisation, with more than 10% of disinterested shareholders, including public-listed Muar Ban Lee Group Bhd, voting against the exercise then. Its share price slipped to a low of RM1.16 due mainly to the global equity rout as a result of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the second quarter of 2020.

For the second offer, independent adviser Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd recommended that shareholders accept the offer, which it described as "not fair" but "reasonable".

However, its unconditional voluntary takeover offer was snubbed for a second time, even after the offer deadline was extended three times from April 28 to June 4.

Jardine CCL only managed to raise its shareholding by 21.57% to 88.04% or 88.69 million shares as at the closing date, from 66.47% on April 7, falling short of the 90% threshold to trigger a compulsory share acquisition.

It is also noted that the counter had hovered above the takeover offer for most of the time, since the offer was made.

After the offer, Open Road Asia Sdn Bhd (ORA) emerged as a new substantial shareholder of CCB with a 5.5% stake, although it has since ceased to be a substantial shareholder after it sold 3.37 million shares on the open market on June 4.

According to its website, ORA is controlled by its founder and group adviser Datuk David Goh. ORA is an “established collaboration partner with luxury automotive brands” such as AMG, Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and Proton, it added.