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HONG Leong Bank Bhd has raised its buyout offer to smaller rival EON Capital Bhd (EONCap) to RM7.30 a share, a move deemed unprecedented for its shrewd owner Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan.

Yesterday’s last-minute change came about after EONCap’s new board, led by acting chairman Gooi Hoe Soon, who is among the seven independent directors appointed recently, told Hong Leong that it would reject the proposal if the offer price was not raised before the deadline today.

“EONCap’s board of directors had a meeting on Wednesday and had told Hong Leong that it needed a better price. Otherwise it would reject the offer. The independent directors were firm that they could not present the same offer to shareholders,” a source told Business Times yesterday.

It seemed to be a gamble on the part of EONCap if the plan was to force out a better offer since Hong Leong’s controlling shareholder, Quek, is known to hold tight to his coffers and has almost never relented at the negotiation table in the past.

Still, the board of EONCap will have to decide today if it will table the RM5.06 billion sweetened deal to shareholders.

Like in the previous proposal, Hong Leong has required EONCap to deal with it exclusively on the sale in good faith.

Hong Leong, the country’s sixth largest lender, had on Tuesday revived an earlier proposal to buy out EONCap’s banking assets, sticking to the same price of RM4.92 billion, or RM7.10 a share.

Hong Leong’s previous plan was shot down by EONCap’s board, which said the offer price then significantly undervalued the group.

One of EONCap’s major owner, Rin Kei Mei, who is a keen seller, had since planned a change in the board’s composition so that Hong Leong’s takeover plan could be revived and brought to shareholders for a decision.

EONCap shares closed up 2 sen at RM7.05 yesterday.

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Hong Leong Bank Bhd recorded a 12.7% reduction in net profit to RM224.7mil for its second quarter ended Dec 31, 2009 against the corresponding quarter in 2008.

Revenue also fell by 7.9% to RM519.4mil for the period under review.

For the six-month period, Hong Leong also recorded a decrease in net profit to RM459mil against RM499.4mil in the same period in 2008.

Revenue also decreased to RM1.03bil compared to RM1.11bil a year earlier.

But for the six months ended Dec 31 compared to the preceeding six months ended June 30 in 2009, the bank recorded a 22% rise in pre-tax profit, reflecting the recovery in economy due to the global financial crisis.

“On a half-year to half-year comparison, pre-tax profit for the period of July to December 2009 increased by 22% against the period of January to June 2009 while gross loans grew 2% in the last six months.

“Loans to individuals expanded 3% and working capital loans grew 2%. We expanded the mortgage books by 4% and we saw 5% growth in the unsecured segment (credit cards and personal lending). This growth momentum should continue,” said group managing director and chief executive officer Yvonne Chia in a statement yesterday.

Going forward, Chia said while the bank was cautiously optimistic of the economic outlook and structural changes to the banking sector globally, it remained “very confident” of its prospects.

“The Malaysian economy should be more vibrant this year and we are well positioned to grow with the upside potential.”

“The recovery of the global financial and economic systems remains vulnerable. Systemically, the sector is resilient today and well-positioned to cope with any further downside risks that arise from global uncertainties,” she said.

Bank of Chengdu Co Ltd contributed RM27mil to Hong Leong Bank’s profit for the quarter ending December 2009.

For the half-year ending December 2009, profit contributions from Bank of Chengdu expanded 24% against the same period last year.

Hong Leong bought a 19.99% stake in Chengdu City Commercial Bank Co Ltd for RM877.5mil in 2007.

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• Hong Leong completes EON Bank merger
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