Shares of Catalist-listed St James Holdings closed 19 per cent higher on Monday, boosted by news the firm would be transformed into a property developer via a reverse takeover deal.
The nightspot operator’s shares ended trading at 6.4 cents each, up from 5.4 cents before the stock was suspended on Friday.
The shares rose as high as 7.7 cents earlier in the session.
St James said on Friday it would buy property assets in Singapore and China worth S$1.56 billion from a group of sellers by issuing new shares.
It would also buy a nearly 28 per cent stake in Perennial China Retail Trust.
The transaction would effectively hand over control of the company to Perennial, which is headed by former CapitaLand shopping mall chief Pua Seck Guan.
The assets that will be injected into St James including majority stakes in Chijmes, as well as the upcoming Capitol Development, a mixed development that will comprise a luxury hotel, high-end apartments, a heritage retail arcade and a shopping mall.
Shares of mainboard-listed Perennial China Retail Trust (PCRT) also rose on Monday, closing almost one per cent higher at 55 cents each.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 1 Mar 2014