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RSH's new controlling shareholder, Emaar Properties, is seeking more details of freshly disclosed intended offers to buy a more than 60 per cent stake in RSH for over US$130 million.
RSH's ex-majority shareholder Golden Ace has unveiled offers to buy some 216 million RSH shares - or a stake of 61.3 per cent - which was pledged to Deutsche Bank as part of a US$160 million loan that Golden Ace defaulted on.
This revelation comes after Emaar, through its unit Emirates Property Holdings, took over the loan and shares in late-June without knowledge of these offers, its offer document showed.
Emaar - which owns 30 per cent of Golden Ace through unit Emaar Retail but does not have a representative in the latter's board - took over the US$160 million loan following threats from the bank in April to seize a large portion of the pledged shares when Golden Ace defaulted on the loan.
Golden Ace is 70 per cent owned by Indian property developer MGF.
The charged shares were taken over by Emaar as a result, giving it an 81.17 per cent stake in RSH and triggering a mandatory unconditional cash offer.
But on Sunday, Emaar Retail received a letter dated July 3 from Golden Ace that showed that the latter was earlier expecting bids of more than US$130 million for the pledged shares. This was revealed by Emaar in a regulatory filing yesterday.
'It is stated in the letter that the financial institution appointed by Golden Ace to identify potential buyers and cause the sale of the charged shares had short-listed several bidders who were about to bid for the charged shares at a reserve price of US$130 million,' said Emaar through its financial adviser Standard Chartered Bank.
'Golden Ace has further stated in the letter that following its discussions with the bidders ... they were expecting the offers from some of the potential bidders to have been above US$130 million,' Emaar added.
The submission of the bids was scheduled for June 19 but was halted following the announcement from Emaar a day before that it had acquired the debt.
Emaar and Standard Chartered Bank cautioned that they have not 'independently verified' the accuracy of the Golden Ace letter.
Emaar said it will be writing to Golden Ace to request updates to the RSH directors and their independent financial adviser on 'the bids that have been received by the financial institution (if any) and the conditions attached'.
Meanwhile, RSH said last night that it would seek immediate updates from Golden Ace relating to the charged shares sale process.
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