Seamico acts to thwart hostile bid
Major shareholders in Seamico Securities are gathering the support of other shareholders in an attempt to block an expected agenda item from a group led by Nupraphant Sanitwong
acting on behalf of Syrus Securities.
"This could become a hostile takeover, because Seamico's shareholders don't want the new investor to have enough voting rights to push for a merger between the two brokers. So we have to closely watch the results of Seamico's shareholders meeting on April 18," a brokerage industry source said last week. If the motion from the Nupraphant group were approved, a major shake-up of Seamico's organisation and management could be expected as part of any merger, the source said. The new investors want to combine Seamico and Syrus and upgrade Seamico into a holding company to act as a vehicle in investing in other businesses before delisting Syrus, the source said. Seamico Securities has reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) that Strategic Acquisitions (SFC) as of March 30 held 125.06 million shares, or 15 per cent of the company, through its two nominees, Quam Securities and Quam Securities Nominee (Singapore). The industry believes Quam Securities is a proxy for Nupraphant, a former shareholder and executive of Seamico Securities. Nupraphant has good connections with Chatchaval Jiaravanon, Syrus Securities' major shareholder, with 12.75 per cent as of March 31. The source said Syrus wants to improve its market share and image by integrating with Seamico. Seamico's 3.47-per-cent share of market trading puts it among the top 10 brokers, while Syrus has 0.72 per cent.
Siriporn Chanjindamanee The Nation
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