Temasek Holdings, the state investor in Singapore Airlines (SIA) is planning to sell around $295 million shares or 1.85% stake in SIA, Reuters report.
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% as per its letter to the shareholders.
Citi Bank is the sole book-runner for the share sale.
Speaking to Reuters, Juliet Teo, Head of Transportation and Logistics, Temasek Holdings said: “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.
Tembusu Capital and Napier Investments are other major shareholders apart from Temasek.
The 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 $4.99 per share, during the annual general meeting in July.
The maximum amount required for such a share buy-back would be over SGD1 billion.