Noble considers an agriculture listing
SINGAPORE-LISTED commodities firm Noble Group is seeking to list its agriculture business, which accounts for a third of its earnings and may have a value of more than $5bn (£3.2bn).
The company, which wants to list the business on the Singapore Exchange, said the process will be subject to market conditions.
JP Morgan is advising Noble on the planned listing, two sources with knowledge of the deal said yesterday.
JP Morgan and Noble declined to comment on who is advising the company or the size of the deal.
Shares of Hong Kong-based Noble jumped as much as 5.8 per cent yesterday, their biggest intra-day jump since 31 August.
Noble, which counts sovereign wealth funds China Investment Corp and Korean Investment Corp among its shareholders, has a market value of about $6bn.
“We believe a spinoff makes sense to further avoid the structural de-rating that has defined the commodities trading sector this year,” UBS analyst Andreas Bokkenheuser said.