Singapore's state investor Temasek Holdings is selling around SGD400 million Singapore dollars (about USD295 million) worth of shares, or a 1.85% stake, in Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi), according to a term sheet seen by Reuters.
Temasek will continue to be one of the ten largest shareholders in Singapore Airlines. According to a letter to shareholders on June 28, Temasek had a direct and deemed interest in approximately 55.42% of the issued shares (excluding 6,967,078 treasury shares owned by the company), thus reducing its shareholding to 53.57% by ch-aviation calculation.
Citi Bank has been appointed as the sole book-runner for the share sale.
Temasek's Head of Transportation & Logistics, Juliet Teo, told Reuters the divestment formed part of Temasek's active investment approach, aiming to rebalance and reshape its portfolio for sustainable returns. Teo also reiterated Temasek's dedication to the long-term growth of Singapore Airlines, emphasising its intention to retain a majority stake in the airline.
Singapore Airlines' total number of shares on the Singapore Stock Exchange total 2,977,543,504. Apart from Temasek, other major stockholders are Tembusu Capital and Napier Investments.
At an annual general meeting on July 27, 2023, shareholders will be asked to approve the renewal of a June 2022 mandate enabling the company to buy back up to 5% or a maximum of 148,528,821 of issued shares at the maximum price of SGD6.76 (USD4.99) per share. The maximum amount required for such a share buy-back would be just over SGD1 billion (USD742 million).
The mandate was to have taken effect at the 2022 AGM and will expire at the forthcoming meeting on July 27. Hence the directors propose that it be renewed. Under the Singapore Companies Act, shares purchased by the company may be held as treasury shares, which may not exceed 10% of the total number of issued shares.
