An investor group led by Yanlord Land Group Ltd is preparing a bid for United Engineers Ltd valuing the century-old Singapore property company at about US$1.2 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter. PHOTO: YANLORD

[SINGAPORE] An investor group led by Yanlord Land Group Ltd is preparing a bid for United Engineers Ltd valuing the century-old Singapore property company at about US$1.2 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Yanlord consortium has agreed to buy the United Engineers stakes held by Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp and its insurance arm, according to the people.

It plans to announce an offer of S$2.60 a share for the rest of the company as soon as Thursday, the people said, asking not to be named as the deliberations are private. 

China-focused developer Yanlord holds 49 per cent of the bidding vehicle, while Singapore landlord Perennial Real Estate Holdings Ltd accounts for 45 per cent and a Chinese investor owns the remainder, the people said.

Their offer represents a 7.9 per cent premium to the United Engineers closing price on September 26, the day before OCBC announced a strategic review of its stake. It is a 4.1 per cent discount to the stock's last price this week before trading was suspended, pending an announcement.

Full story at http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/yanlord-near-us12b-united-engineers-offer-sources