Mandarin Oriental acquisition bid shows it’s better to invest in Jardine Matheson

Analysts say the proposed buyout is a good deal for Jardine Matheson, but not so much for Mandarin Oriental International minority shareholders as it undervalues Mandarin Oriental International significantly

Conglomerate Jardine Matheson’s offer to acquire minority stakes in Mandarin Oriental International in its attempt to buy out and delist the hotel investment and management group is yet another proof that investors should invest in the holding company and not the units in its stable.

In 2021, Jardine Matheson made a bid to acquire the remaining 15.1 per cent stake in Jardine Strategic Holdings that it did not already own at US$33 a share – a 30 per cent discount to its estimated net asset value of US$46.67 a share.

The conglomerate had said then that acquiring the rest of the stake in Jardine Strategic and then delisting the counter – which had a secondary listing in Singapore – would simplify the corporate structure of the Jardine empire.