Magnus opus

1 November 2010 By Wei Gu

The Singapore exchange chief once said Asia didn’t need consolidation. No wonder shareholders don’t like his offer for the Australian bourse. If he really thinks a tieup is compelling, Bocker may have to redraft the deal terms even if that leaves him with a smaller role.

This content is for Subscribers only

Context News

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard discussed the Singapore Exchange's takeover proposal of ASX with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Asean Summit on Oct. 29. The Australian leader said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp that the bid will have to go through a "clear process". She added an assessment of whether the SGX deal is in Australia's national interests should be left to the country's Foreign Investment Review Board.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Oct. 25 unveiled an agreed A$8.4 billion ($8.3 billion) takeover offer for Sydneybased ASX Ltd to create Asia's fourthlargest stock exchange.

SGX shares have lost 7.5 percent of its value since it made the proposal. ASX is now trading at a 18.6 percent discount to the offer price. Together the two companies have lost $36 million in market value.

Email a friend

Please complete the form below.

Required fields *