Mandarin Oriental clears final hurdle for Jardine takeover
Mandarin Oriental International Ltd has confirmed the completion of the $925 million sale of One Causeway Bay in Hong Kong.
The announcement clears the way for the final major condition for its agreed cash acquisition by Jardine Strategic Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jardine Matheson Holdings, which will see Jardine acquire all remaining shares of the hotel group that it does not already own.
In a regulatory filing issued on Wednesday, the Bermudian-incorporated hotel group said all conditions linked to the One Causeway Bay transaction had now been satisfied and the sale formally completed, allowing the acquisition to proceed as planned.
The One Causeway Bay sale, first announced in October, involved the disposal of 11 floors of the landmark property at One Causeway Bay, along with rooftop signage and 50 parking spaces. The buyer was Alibaba Group and an Ant Group affiliate.
Mandarin Oriental said the proceeds of the sale will be returned to shareholders via a special cash dividend of 60 cents per share, payable on January 22 to shareholders on the register as of January 9. Shares will trade ex-dividend from January 8.
The acquisition of the Mandarin Oriental by Jardine Strategic is being implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement under the Bermuda Companies Act.
A court-sanctioned hearing is scheduled for January 15, with the scheme expected to become effective on January 19, subject to court approval and the delivery of the court order to Bermuda’s Registrar of Companies.
Under the published timetable, trading in Mandarin Oriental shares will be suspended on the Bermuda Stock Exchange at 5pm on January 16, with the company’s listing cancelled on January 20. Parallel suspensions and delistings will take place in London and Singapore.
Once the scheme becomes effective, Jardine Strategic will acquire the shares it does not already own, bringing the Mandarin Oriental fully into the Jardine Matheson group and ending its public listing after decades as a Bermudian-based quoted company.
