Instead of being frightened off, Sherman Kwek saw an opportunity. He wanted to wrest control of Sincere at a better price than what was agreed in 2019. The 2019 deal was not completed as Sincere had not satisfied certain conditions. “I felt that we could save it and turn it around, then China would be one of our biggest markets,” he said.
He put forth a package for CDL to acquire 51.01 per cent, more than double the 2019 deal, at a cheaper price of 4.39 billion yuan. It also included a call option that CDL could exercise to buy an additional 9 per cent interest in the firm for 770 million yuan – the same valuation. Together, CDL would then hold a 60.01 per cent stake in the firm for a total of 5.16 billion yuan.