Shares of Major Cineplex Group (MAJOR) tumbled by more than 13 per cent in early trading today after the group announced that it was divesting more than 30 per cent of its holding in the community mall developer, Siam Future Development (SF).
MAJOR, Thailand’s largest cinema operator, late yesterday announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its entire holding, 647 million share or 30.36 per cent, in SF to Thailand’s leading mall developer, Central Pattana (CPN), at 12 baht each totaling 7.76 billion baht.
The transaction is expected to be completed by August 30.
Following the acquisition, CPN is required to make a tender offer for the remaining shares in SF at the same price of 12 baht each in a 17.8-billion-baht transaction.
CPN stated that the company will benefit from SF’s experience and expertise in community mall development such as the Mega Bangna Shopping Centre. Analysts predict that SF will generate around 600 million baht of profit per year to CPN.
Analysts at Tisco Securities assess this acquisition as positive for CPN given that the company gets enough managerial board seats to be able to enhance SF’s operation.
“SF’s key investment is the MEGA Bangna mall which is jointly operated with IKEA in southeast Bangkok near the airport. The closest CPN properties to the mall are Central Village and Central Bangna,” according to a research note.
“The location is currently quite popular for residential project expansions and hence we see strong potential for future growth,” Tisco added.
Market response
The divestment of SF by MAJOR prompted many investors to dump the shares of MAJOR, leading to a price drop over 13 per cent on Tuesday.
Shares of SF remained flat at 11.60 baht, while that of CPN was up by nearly 2 per cent to 52.75 baht.
SF shares have risen by 48.71 per cent from a month ago, a clear indication that those in the know. The average trading volume was less than 10 million shares a day until around a month ago as well but after that it has risen by at least 2-3x the daily average seen in late May and early June.
Phatipak Navawatatna, analyst at Krungsri Securities, noted that the sale is a good move for MAJOR given the current situation.
“Given the uncertainty created by the pandemic, it is better for MAJOR to be debt-free and preserve liquidity,” Phatipak said.
MAJOR will lose about 600 million baht a year earnings from SF but would save 150 million baht of interest expense after paring down debt. The divestment would reduce the company’s earnings in 2022 by 37 per cent, according to Krungsri.
MAJOR had been relying on the dividend income from SF to sustain the impact of the ban on cinema goers and the overall impact of the pandemic. The cinema operator has been losing money since the outbreak of the pandemic and according to its filing on the SET, it reported a net loss of 527 million baht for 2020 and 120 million baht for the first quarter of 2021.