SingPost rejects all offers for sale of US e-commerce businesses

Its US unit opted to file petitions for relief in the United States Bankruptcy Court.

Singapore Post (SingPost) has closed the sale process of its e-commerce businesses Jagged Peak and TradeGlobal as there were “no acceptable offers”, an SGX filing revealed.

About 105 interested parties showed interest and signed non-disclosure agreements. Eight expressions of interest were chosen before SingPost came to two non-binding offers. However, the terms and conditions presented by the offerors were said to be “commercially unfeasible” to the firm.

Also read: Sale of loss making e-commerce business could push SingPost earnings by up to 20.3%: analyst

The sale process ran for over six months where SingPost had appointed a financial adviser and reached out to potential buyers globally.

Jagged Peak and TradeGlobal have filed voluntary petitions for relief in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada. Under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, the US subsidiaries intend to pursue the sale of all or substantially all of their assets.

“SingPost will no longer include the US subsidiaries in its consolidated financial reports. For the quarter ended 30 June 2019, the unaudited consolidated loss arising from the US subsidiaries was approximately $6.9m,” SingPost said.

A combination of intensifying competition and customer bankruptcies have resulted in widening losses for Jagged Peak and TradeGlobal and has affected SingPost’s turnaround, analysts said.