This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on December 21, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: The takeover offer for Hovid Bhd has turned unconditional, with the joint offerors Fajar Astoria Sdn Bhd and Hovid managing director David Ho Sue San now holding in aggregate 68.2% of the pharmaceutical company’s shares.

This is above the 67% acceptance threshold set, which means its final acceptance condition of the offer has been fulfilled, turning the bid unconditional yesterday, the group announced via a Bursa Malaysia filing.

The joint offerors will keep the offer open for acceptances for at least another 14 days from the unconditional date. As such, the closing date and time for the acceptances of the offer have been extended to 5pm on Jan 12, 2018.

Prior to this, the group had extended the cut-off date for the acceptance offer three times, from Nov 20 originally to Dec 4, then to Dec 7, and then to Dec 29.

As at market close yesterday, the joint offerors also held 77.37% of Hovid’s warrants.

On Oct 9 this year, Ho and private equity firm TAEL Two Partners Ltd — via its special purpose vehicle Fajar Astoria — made a voluntary takeover offer of 38 sen per share and 20 sen per warrant for the rest of Hovid shares not owned by them. At those prices, Fajar Astoria is expected to fork out some RM243.1 million for the deal.

When the offer was made in October, the joint offerors held some 33.72% of the company. Since then, the acceptance condition for the offer has been lowered twice — from 90% originally to 75% and then to 67%.

Hovid shares closed unchanged at 37.5 sen yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM307.83 million.