Singapore Air Raises Offer Price For Tiger

Singapore Airlines has raised the price of its cash offer to buy all shares in Tiger Airways that it does not already own.

SIA said its final offer price was SGD$0.45 a share, up from SGD$0.41 a share in cash for the budget carrier, valuing Tiger at approximately SGD$1.125 billion (USD$790 million).

Shareholders also have an option to subscribe for SIA shares at SGD$11.10 per share. The offer remains conditional upon SIA owning more than 90 percent of Tiger Airways by the new closing date of January 22.

Last week SIA said it owned, controlled or agreed to acquire 74.5 percent shares of Tiger Airways. Minority shareholders, represented by the Securities Investors Association Singapore, had urged SIA to increase the buyout price.

Tiger operates Airbus A320s and was set up by SIA and Singapore's national investment firm, Temasek, in 2004.

In recent years, facing intense competition and huge losses, it has pulled out of its joint ventures in Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia to concentrate on the Singapore market.

SIA became its majority shareholder in December 2014 after a rights issue.