Goldman Sachs bids for shares in Regent Bangkok

Asian Economic News, April 5, 1999

BANGKOK, March 30 Kyodo Goldman Sachs and Co., a leading U.S. investment bank, and its local ally, Bangkok Hotel Holdings, announced Tuesday their offer to purchase a minimum of 26% of Rajadamri Hotel Public Co., which owns a 100% share in the five-star Regent Bangkok hotel. The takeover bid, valuing Rajadamri Hotel at 1.7 billion baht (46 million dollars), includes their willingness to purchase up to 100% of the shares in the company, the two companies said.

The offer price is 38 baht (1.02 dollars) per share, representing a 71% premium over the company's share price on the Thai market, they said. It is also 52% higher than the tender price to shareholders announced earlier this month by the Royal Garden group, an affiliate of local fast food and hotel operator Minor Group, which offered a price of 27 baht per share. ''The structure of this offer is fundamentally fair to all shareholders and provides all shareholders an equal opportunity in the process,'' said Henry Cornell, managing director of Goldman Sachs (Asia) Co. Its announcement to bid for Rajadamri Hotel reflects Thailand's improving tourism industry, Cornell said. ''This investment represents a rare and unique opportunity to acquire one of the best managed five-star properties in Bangkok,'' he said. The buyout of Rajadamri Hotel seems to depend on responses from two Japanese shareholders, industry sources said. Ransway Co. and Rantack Co., both subsidiaries of Japan's EIE International Corp., hold a combined 32.33% stake in Rajadamri Hotel. Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corp. which serves as their financial adviser, issued a statement Monday saying that while it has been in negotiations with a number of potential bidders in the hotel, no agreement has yet been reached.