Following concerns raised during its initial assessment, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) has commenced a phase 2 review of SUTL Enterprise’s proposed $40 million SGD (about $30 million USD) acquisition of Marina at Keppel Bay. In a separate announcement, SUTL said it had agreed to defer the long stop date for the transaction.
SUTL first announced the proposed acquisition in December last year, when it disclosed plans for its wholly owned subsidiary, ONE15 Marina KB, to acquire Marina at Keppel Bay’s property and assets from its owner, Keppel Bay.
The parties applied for a decision on whether the transaction, if completed, would infringe Section 54 of the Competition Act 2004, which prohibits mergers that have resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition in any market in Singapore.
After accepting the application, CCS commenced its phase 1 review on 27 February 2026. Two months later, on 27 April, the authority raised competition concerns, finding that the parties may be each other’s closest competitors and could hold significant market shares after the transaction.
In response, SUTL submitted a commitment proposal on 11 May, but CCS did not accept it, saying it did not appropriately address the competition concerns.
The review then proceeded to phase 2 after CCS accepted the relevant documents from the parties on 14 July. During this stage, the parties may propose revised commitments to address any competition concerns identified by the authority. CCS will make its decision on the transaction after completing the review.
Separately, SUTL said in an announcement yesterday that it had agreed with Keppel Bay to defer the long stop date to 4 January 2027, effective from 24 July 2026, following an earlier extension in May.
