United Engineers owners said to pick Pua's Perennial for final talks

SINGAPORE (May 31): United Engineers’ largest shareholders picked Perennial Real Estate Holdings for final talks to buy the century-old Singapore property group, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Perennial, led by Chief Executive Officer Pua Seck Guan, edged out other suitors including KKR & Co. and SingHaiyi Group that also submitted final bids, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. An agreement could be reached as soon as next month for United Engineers, which has a market value of $1.7 billion, according to one of the people.

Any deal will add to the US$11.6 billion ($16 billion) of acquisitions in Singapore’s real estate industry over the past 12 months, data compiled by Bloomberg show. A buyer of United Engineers would gain a property portfolio that includes Singapore shopping centers like Rochester Mall and mixed-used developments such as UE BizHub City, as well as condominiums, hotels and serviced apartments, according to its website.

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