Eddie Ong Raises Hextar Retail Stake to 35.42%, Triggering Mandatory Offer

Hextar Retail Bhd major shareholder Datuk Eddie Ong Choo Meng has triggered a mandatory takeover offer for the company after his investment vehicle, Hextar Portfolio Sdn Bhd, raised its stake to 35.42 per cent.

Hextar Portfolio acquired 22.41 million shares at prices not exceeding the cash offer price of 43 sen per share, increasing the collective stake held with Ong to 164.7 million shares from 142.29 million shares on Sept 1.

Crossing the 33 per cent threshold requires Ong and parties acting in concert with him to make a mandatory offer for all remaining shares, following a conditional voluntary takeover offer announced on Aug 10.

Crossing the mandatory threshold

Filings from principal adviser RHB Investment Bank show the group held 30.6 per cent, or 142.29 million shares, on Sept 1. By 5pm on the transaction date, the offerors also secured valid acceptances for 0.15 per cent of the company, with another 0.08 per cent under verification. That brought their confirmed stake to 35.57 per cent.

Hextar Portfolio confirmed the offer price will stay at 43 sen. Neither the offeror nor concert parties bought shares above that price during the reference period, exempting them from an upward price revision under Malaysian takeover rules.

Expansion beyond picture frames

Tighter control lets the sponsor group speed up capital reallocation inside an operating business that has shifted far from its roots. For minority investors, the cash offer sets a firm price floor.

Heavy ownership concentration also centralises supply chain decisions between manufacturing and consumer-facing units. Controlling shareholders can route procurement internally through existing logistics, chemical inputs and retail channels, though public investors remain exposed to governance and allocation risks across disparate divisions.

What happens next on Bursa Malaysia

Hextar Retail started as Classic Scenic, a wooden picture frame moulding manufacturer running nine production facilities across Rawang in Selangor and Bidor in Perak. The business later diversified into food and beverage operations and apparel retailing, taking the Hextar name to align with Ong’s wider corporate stable.

The offerors plan to maintain Hextar Retail’s listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia. They will not take the company private if the required public shareholding spread stays intact.

Independent advisers will dispatch the formal offer document detailing closing dates, verification tallies for the pending 0.08 per cent stake, and the final deadline for shareholder acceptances.