Hatten Land, which floundered as a property play that bet the house on Malacca, is trying to reinvent itself as a construction engineering firm with a $28 million reverse takeover of Metrocon.
The circular for the deal, first announced last October, has been lodged.
This transaction will be subject to shareholders' vote at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to be held on July 22, and if given the go ahead, Hatten Land will be renamed Metrocon Holdings, specialising in geotechnical foundation engineering services.
Citing an independent valuation, Metrocon is valued at between $34.64 million and $39.65 million.
As part of the acquisition, the company will first consolidate 830 shares into one consolidated share, thereby reducing the total share base from nearly 1.86 billion to 2.24 million.
The company will then issue 107.7 million shares to vendor LBD Engineering at 26 cents each. Hatten Land's creditors and other parties will receive 22.38 million and 21.55 million shares respectively, leading to an enlarged share capital of 154.87 million shares, implying a post-deal market cap of $40 million.
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To meet the minimum public float requirement under Catalist rules, the company will place out 25 million new shares at no less than 20 cents each.
Upon which, the vendor will hold just over 60% of the company's equity with around 15.2% in public hands.
RHT Capital is the financial adviser and sponsor to the company for this deal and W Capital Markets the independent financial adviser.
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Metrocon, incorporated in 2016, is described as a BCA-registered Grade L5 contractor under the CR08 (Piling Works) workhead specialising in subsurface construction works.
Metrocon's founder Alvin Lim will become the listed entity's non-executive and non-independent chairman and Tan Kean Seng will be the executive director and CEO.
"Our ambition was for Metrocon to build a geotechnical business that could take on the technically demanding projects in Singapore with consistency and reliability," says Lim.
"Over the past few years, that vision has translated into a strong track record, a capable team and a business that is ready for its next phase.
"The proposed RTO is a natural progression that will provide Metrocon with the governance framework and capital market access to grow responsibly and create enduring value," he adds.
As of June 15, Metrocon has an existing order book of $85.25 million to be delivered over the next two years.
In FY2023, Metrocon generated revenue of $23.58 million which grew to $36.5 million the following year.
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It was loss making in FY2023 with $5.8 million in red ink but turned profitable the following year with earnings of $548,000.
In the most recent FY2025, Metrocon reported earnings of $4.2 million on revenue of $61.1 million.
"Singapore's construction sector is entering a period of sustained activity underpinned by a multi-year public sector pipeline and private sector demand," says Tan.
"We intend to capitalise on this environment by upgrading our BCA contractor registration to Grade L6, expanding our fleet and workforce, and selectively pursuing acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
"With a healthy order book and an established customer base, we are confident in Metrocon's prospects amid these tailwinds," he adds.
