Thai-listed Medeze Group moves to acquire 10% stake in Cordlife

Offer will comprise 25.63 million shares at 25 cents each in cash

- Kang Wan Chern

Thailand-listed Medeze Group is making a move to acquire a 10 per cent stake in Singapore-listed cord blood bank Cordlife Group.

The offer, which will be done through Medeze's wholly owned subsidiary Medeze Treasury, will comprise 25.63 million shares at 25 cents each in cash.

This represents a 61.3 per cent premium over Cordlife's last traded price of 15.5 cents on May 9, Cordlife said in a May 13 statement filed on the Singapore Exchange. The offer price also exceeds the 12-month average price of the stock.

Cordlife last traded at 16 cents before trading of its shares was halted on May 13.

If successful, the partial offer will raise Medeze's direct stake in Cordlife to about 10.68 per cent.

It will also mark Medeze's first strategic move to expand in the Singapore market.

In its statement, Medeze, which is among South-east Asia's largest stem cell storage and services providers, said it intends to engage with Cordlife as a substantial shareholder to explore long-term business opportunities that could deliver long-term value for both parties.