China Hainan to buy 36% stake in Halcyon

SINGAPORE—China Hainan Rubber Industry Co. Ltd. has entered into an agreement to purchase a 36-percent shareholding in Halcyon Agri Corp. Ltd. from Sinochem Int. (Overseas) Pte. Ltd.

With the deal, worth about $180.9 million, China Hainan Rubber also announced a mandatory general offer (MGO) to acquire all the issued and paid-up ordinary shares in Halcyon Agri it does not already own, according to a Nov. 17 news release.

As the shares acquisition would give China Hainan Rubber more than 30 percent of the issued and paid-up share capital of the company, the deal triggered an obligation for the MGO under Singapore M&A rules.

The transactions are subject to approvals by shareholder and Chinese regulatory authorities.

According to the announcement, China Hainan Rubber intends for Halcyon Agri to remain listed on the SGX-ST following the completion of the MGO and is not planning any major changes to the existing business or management of the group.

"There are no changes to (Halcyon Agri's) vision and business strategy to be the leading natural rubber global franchise, and focus on creating value to its customers, employees and stakeholders," the companies said.

With sales of around $2.5 billion, Singapore-based Halcyon Agri has rubber plantation, processing and supply-chain operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China and Africa—backed by logistics, storage, lab and sales units around the world.