The door may still be open for EONCap

Hong Leong, the sixth largest local bank whose offer to takeover EONCap lapsed last week, said it was asked to extend the offer until a special shareholder meeting to change EONCap's board composition is over.

EONCap's current board of seven-member had turned down Hong Leong's offer and allowed the bid to lapse, reportedly after a five-against-two vote last week.

The meeting, scheduled for February 22, was planned by Rin Kei Mei, a 15.4 per cent owner of EONCap, to add more directors to the board with an aim to pave the way for Hong Leong's offer to be reconsidered.

"Kualapura Sdn Bhd and Lintang Emas Sdn Bhd had requested for (us) to maintain the offer to EONCap for a period of 14 days after the date of the (meeting)," Hong Leong told Bursa Malaysia yesterday. Kualapura and Lintang Emas are Rin's private companies through which he holds the EONCap shares.
Hong Leong said it cannot consider the request since EONCap has rejected the offer and "it has not been informed of any change in the board of EONCap's position".

Sources close to Rin described Hong Leong's unfriendly response as "unexpected" and "disappointing".

"Rin has thought the offer extension was just a formality. He just wanted the comfort of knowing that the offer is still there since he has asked for the meeting," the source said.

But even with the tough stand, Hong Leong appears to leave the door open by implying that EONCap can approach it when there's a change in its board's position.

Shares of EONCap closed unchanged at RM6.67 on Bursa Malaysia yesterday, lower than Hong Leong's offer of RM7.10 per share.