Singapore Life Insurer Great Eastern Holdings Shares Suspended on 15th July 2024 after Crossing 90% Shareholding by OCBC with 93.52%, $48 Billion OCBC Had Offered to Buy Remaining Shares of Majority-Owned Life Insurance Group Great Eastern Holdings at $8.9 Billion Valuation
18th July 2024 | Hong Kong
Singapore life insurer Great Eastern Holdings shares had been suspended on 15th July 2024 (Singapore Exchange, SGX) after crossing 90% shareholding ownership by OCBC with 93.52% shareholding. In 2024 May, Singapore 2nd largest banking group OCBC (18/7/24: $48 billion market value) announced offer to buy the remaining 11.56% shares of majority-owned life insurance group Great Eastern Holdings at $8.9 billion valuation (S$12.1 billion), with offer price of S$25.60 representing a 36.9% premium over the last traded price of S$18.7 on 9th May 2024. Currently, OCBC owns 88.44% of Greater Eastern Holdings, and plans to delist from Singapore Exchange (SGX) after successful buyout. Announcement (10/5/24): “Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (“OCBC”) today announced a S$1.4 billion voluntary unconditional general offer (“Offer”) for the 11.56% stake in Great Eastern Holdings Limited (“Great Eastern”) that it does not currently own, a move aimed at strengthening OCBC’s business pillars of banking, wealth management and insurance, and optimising its capital to enhance shareholder returns. OCBC’s corporate strategy gained strong momentum in 2023, leveraging OCBC’s strengths to capitalise on the vast opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing regions. The Offer is therefore in line with OCBC’s strategy to solidify its wealth management leadership position to drive growth by capturing rising Asian wealth. The Offer price of S$25.60 represents a 36.9% premium over Great Eastern’s last traded price of S$18.70 and premiums of 38.6%, 40.0% and 42.4% over the one-month, three-month and 12-month periods up to and including the last trading date of 9 May 2024. With the Offer, OCBC intends to increase its investment in Great Eastern beyond its current stake of 88.44%, with a view to delisting the insurer from the SGX-ST … … J.P. Morgan Securities Asia Private Limited is the exclusive financial adviser to OCBC for the Offer while Allen & Gledhill LLP acts as legal adviser to OCBC.” Earlier in May 2024, OCBC completed the acquisition of Indonesia PT Bank Commonwealth with 1.2 million customers from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $191 million.
“ Singapore Life Insurer Great Eastern Holdings Shares Suspended on 15th July 2024 after Crossing 90% Shareholding by OCBC with 93.52%, $48 Billion OCBC Had Offered to Buy Remaining Shares of Majority-Owned Life Insurance Group Great Eastern Holdings at $8.9 Billion Valuation “
Singapore $46 Billion OCBC Announced Offer to Buy Remaining 11.56% Shares of Majority-Owned Life Insurance Group Great Eastern Holdings at $8.9 Billion Valuation, Offer Price of S$25.60 Represents 36.9% Premium Over Last Traded Price of S$18.7 on 9th May 2024, OCBC Owns 88.44% of Greater Eastern Holdings & Plans to Delist from Singapore Exchange after Successful Buyout
![](https://www.caproasia.com/asia/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OCBC-Singapore-Headquarter.jpg)
10th May 2024- Singapore 2nd largest banking group OCBC (10/5/24: $46 billion market value) has announced offer to buy the remaining 11.56% shares of majority-owned life insurance group Great Eastern Holdings at $8.9 billion valuation (S$12.1 billion), with offer price of S$25.60 representing a 36.9% premium over the last traded price of S$18.7 on 9th May 2024. Currently, OCBC owns 88.44% of Greater Eastern Holdings, and plans to delist from Singapore Exchange (SGX) after successful buyout. Announcement (10/5/24): “Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (“OCBC”) today announced a S$1.4 billion voluntary unconditional general offer (“Offer”) for the 11.56% stake in Great Eastern Holdings Limited (“Great Eastern”) that it does not currently own, a move aimed at strengthening OCBC’s business pillars of banking, wealth management and insurance, and optimising its capital to enhance shareholder returns. OCBC’s corporate strategy gained strong momentum in 2023, leveraging OCBC’s strengths to capitalise on the vast opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing regions. The Offer is therefore in line with OCBC’s strategy to solidify its wealth management leadership position to drive growth by capturing rising Asian wealth. The Offer price of S$25.60 represents a 36.9% premium over Great Eastern’s last traded price of S$18.70 and premiums of 38.6%, 40.0% and 42.4% over the one-month, three-month and 12-month periods up to and including the last trading date of 9 May 2024. With the Offer, OCBC intends to increase its investment in Great Eastern beyond its current stake of 88.44%, with a view to delisting the insurer from the SGX-ST … … J.P. Morgan Securities Asia Private Limited is the exclusive financial adviser to OCBC for the Offer while Allen & Gledhill LLP acts as legal adviser to OCBC.” Earlier in May 2024, OCBC completed the acquisition of Indonesia PT Bank Commonwealth with 1.2 million customers from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $191 million.
OCBC Group CEO Ms Helen Wong: “The Offer is a natural progression of OCBC’s strategy. We have moved intentionally to build up a strong wealth management franchise by hiring the best people and instituting best practices and processes, and raising our investment in Great Eastern. We have been looking at opportunities to best use our capital and believe the Offer allows us to deploy our resources into a key business that is expected to be earnings accretive to OCBC. This is not the first time that we are making an offer to increase our investment in Great Eastern – first in 2004, followed by 2006. As OCBC has been the majority shareholder of Great Eastern for the past 20 years, the Group has entrenched institutional knowledge and expertise to manage the insurance business. We are confident this exercise complements our One Group, One Brand strategy. This will further accelerate our ambitious wealth management plans and build even tighter bonds and synergies across all our business pillars and key markets”.
Rationale
A) Offer is in line with OCBC’s corporate strategy and strengthens its business pillars of banking, wealth management and insurance
- First announced in 2022, OCBC’s corporate strategy is focused on four growth drivers to capture regional trade, investment and wealth flows. One of the growth drivers is to capture rising Asian wealth with its Singapore-Hong Kong-Dubai hubs and digital propositions.
- In a fast-growing region that has seen rising demand for products and solutions to enhance and preserve wealth, bringing Great Eastern even closer to OCBC reinforces its long-term vision of becoming the leading wealth management player.
- As Great Eastern has been part of OCBC’s stable of companies for decades, OCBC and Great Eastern share a strong synergistic relationship. OCBC is able to customise a full suite of investment, insurance and estate planning solutions for its customers, while Great Eastern has benefited from its access to OCBC’s extensive retail and commercial customer base.
B) Offer enhances returns and optimises capital
- The Offer is expected to be earnings accretive to OCBC. Great Eastern provides diversification to OCBC’s earnings base to deliver balanced earnings growth through economic cycles. Great Eastern has contributed an average of about S$700 million annually in net profit to OCBC over the past 10 years, which translates to an average of about 15% of OCBC’s annual net profit over this period.
- The Offer presents an opportunity for OCBC to deploy its capital to generate greater returns for its shareholders. By increasing its investment in Great Eastern, OCBC can further capture the benefits from ongoing synergies and have a greater share of Great Eastern’s value.
OCBC Completes Acquisition of Indonesia PT Bank Commonwealth with 1.2 Million Customers from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $191 Million, OCBC Indonesia Provides Full Range of Banking Services Including Wealth Management, Private Banking, SMEs & Large Corporations
![](https://www.caproasia.com/asia/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OCBC-Singapore-Headquarter.jpg)
2nd May 2024 – OCBC has completed the acquisition of Indonesia PT Bank Commonwealth with 1.2 million customers from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $191 million. OCBC Indonesia provides a full range of banking services including wealth management, private banking, and serving SMEs & large corporations. Announcement (2/5/24): OCBC’s Indonesian subsidiary, PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk (“OCBC Indonesia”), has completed the acquisition of PT Bank Commonwealth Indonesia (“PTBC”) on 1 May 2024. OCBC Indonesia now owns 100% of PTBC’s shares, making PTBC a wholly-owned subsidiary of OCBC Indonesia. The acquisition brings more than 1.2 million PTBC customers to OCBC Indonesia. PTBC brings with it demonstrated capabilities in wealth management where it has been a pioneer, having been the first bank to obtain a licence as a Mutual Fund Sales Agent from Indonesia’s financial services authority, BAPEPAM-LK (now known as Otoritas Jasa Keuangan). PTBC will continue to operate independently until the integration process is completed. This is targeted to be in the fourth quarter of 2024. During this period, PTBC will serve its customers as usual with its banking products and services, including banking transactions at PTBC’s branches and through digital channels. OCBC Indonesia offers a full range of services to individuals across segments including Private Banking, as well as SMEs and large corporations. These customers are served through mobile and internet banking channels, as well as OCBC Indonesia’s network of around 200 branches. The bank holds one of the highest credit ratings in Indonesia, namely AAA(idn)/stable from PT Fitch Ratings Indonesia. This acquisition underscores Indonesia’s continued importance to OCBC Group. It is one of the Group’s core markets together with Singapore, Malaysia and Greater China, and presents many opportunities as ASEAN’s largest economy and the world’s fourth most populous country. China is Indonesia’s largest trading partner and Indonesia’s second largest investor. Combining PTBC’s capabilities with OCBC Indonesia’s enables OCBC Group to better capture the opportunities from the increasing ASEAN-Greater China wealth, trade and investment flows, in line with the Group’s corporate strategy. The acquisition is the latest strategic milestone for OCBC in Indonesia. It became the first Singapore bank to acquire a banking stake in Indonesia with the acquisition of a 22.5% stake in PT Bank NISP Tbk (“Bank NISP”) in 2004 – a stake that has increased over the years to the current 85%. Bank NISP was renamed to become PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk (“Bank OCBC NISP”) in 2008. In 2023, in line with OCBC’s brand refresh, Bank OCBC NISP changed its brand name to OCBC Indonesia and adopted OCBC’s refreshed logo. Its legal name remains as PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk.”
Helen Wong, Group CEO of OCBC: “With the acquisition process now complete, our immediate priority is to ensure the successful operational integration of PT Bank Commonwealth Indonesia into OCBC Indonesia. We are working closely with its management team and are committed to a smooth transition for the customers and employees. Customers of both banks have a lot to look forward to as we leverage our complementary strengths to expand our product and services offerings in Indonesia. This acquisition builds on our already strong presence in Indonesia. It signals our commitment to accelerating growth in the country, and to support our customers as they seek growth across multiple markets. Rising ASEAN-Greater China flows is a focal point of Asia’s growth story and a big opportunity for us. Chinese companies for instance, are looking to expand into Indonesia to tap its large young population and abundance of natural resources. Continuously strengthening our network across ASEAN and Greater China, and presence in other global financial centres, is therefore imperative to our strategy.”
OCBC to Acquire 99% of Indonesia PT Bank Commonwealth from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $191 Million, Intends to Acquire Remaining 1% from Other Shareholders
![](https://www.caproasia.com/asia/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OCBC-Singapore-Headquarter.jpg)
17th November 2023 – OCBC has announced to acquire 99% of Indonesia PT Bank Commonwealth from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $191 million, and intends to acquire the remaining 1% from other shareholders. OCBC: “PTBC focuses on retail and small and medium-sized enterprises segments, providing a range of banking and wealth management products. Based on PTBC’s unaudited financial statements as at 30 September 2023, the net asset value and net tangible asset value of PTBC was IDR4.1 trillion and IDR3.5 trillion (approximately S$356 million and S$308 million), respectively. The Proposed Acquisition is subject to amongst others, regulatory approvals from Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Upon the completion of the Proposed Acquisition, PTBC will be a subsidiary of OCBC Indonesia. OCBC Indonesia has sufficient financial resources, through its own internal cash, to fund the Proposed Acquisition.” More info below:
OCBC to Acquire 99% of Indonesia PT Bank Commonwealth from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $191 Million
![](https://www.caproasia.com/asia/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OCBC-Singapore-Headquarter.jpg)
16th November 2023 – Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (“OCBC Bank”) wishes to announce that its subsidiary, PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk (“OCBC Indonesia”), has on 16 November 2023 entered into a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (“SPA”) to acquire 99% of the issued ordinary shares in PT Bank Commonwealth (“PTBC”) from Commonwealth Bank of Australia. OCBC Indonesia also intends to acquire the remaining 1% of the issued ordinary shares in PTBC from the other shareholders.
PTBC focuses on retail and small and medium-sized enterprises segments, providing a range of banking and wealth management products. Based on PTBC’s unaudited financial statements as at 30 September 2023, the net asset value and net tangible asset value of PTBC was IDR4.1 trillion and IDR3.5 trillion (approximately S$356 million and S$308 million), respectively. The Proposed Acquisition is subject to amongst others, regulatory approvals from Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Upon the completion of the Proposed Acquisition, PTBC will be a subsidiary of OCBC Indonesia. OCBC Indonesia has sufficient financial resources, through its own internal cash, to fund the Proposed Acquisition.
The Proposed Acquisition is not expected to have any material impact on the net tangible assets, earnings per share or capital position of OCBC Bank for the financial year ending 31 December 2023. It is envisaged that PTBC will be merged into OCBC Indonesia after the Proposed Acquisition. OCBC Indonesia will be working closely with PTBC on the migration of customers and employees to ensure a smooth transition. The Proposed Acquisition adds scale to OCBC Indonesia and deepens OCBC Bank’s presence in Indonesia. PTBC’s customer base of retail and small and medium-sized enterprise customers is complementary with OCBC Indonesia. As there is little overlap in customer relationships between OCBC Indonesia and PTBC, the Proposed Acquisition is expected to create synergies and strengthen the franchise value of OCBC Indonesia.”
None of the Directors or controlling shareholders of OCBC Bank has any interest, direct or indirect, in the Proposed Acquisition.
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