SINGAPORE: Shares of Keppel Corp sank the most since November 2008 after a unit of Singapore state-backed investor Temasek Holdings Pte scrapped its bid to take control of the oil-rig builder.
Keppel’s stock plunged as much as 13% to head for its lowest close in more than four years, and was the worst performer on the Straits Times Index. The company’s dollar bonds due 2025 declined the most since they were sold in May, according to Bloomberg-compiled prices. Temasek’s “withdrawal is a surprise,” said Joel Ng, an analyst at KGI Securities Pte. “My base case was for Temasek to lower its offer price for Keppel Corp in light of the impact of Covid-19.”Kyanite Investment Holdings, a unit of Temasek, invoked a clause allowing it to withdraw the offer after Keppel’s quarterly loss failed to meet pre-conditions of the bid, it said in a statement Monday.