Tecity wins backing for Singapore Straits Trading bid

SINGAPORE, March 3 (Reuters) - The top shareholder of Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has withdrawn its bid for Straits Trading (STCM.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and will accept a higher rival offer for the locally-listed commodities and property firm. The Lee family, which controls about 25 percent of OCBC, said in a statement on Sunday it withdrew its offer due to market volatility, and because rival bidder Tecity raised its original offer for Straits Trading by 17.5 percent to S$6.70 per share, valuing Straits Trading at S$2.18 billion ($1.56 billion), according to Reuters data.

The Lee family owns about 7.1 percent of Straits Trading, while Tecity, controlled by the family of the late Tan Chin Tuan, who led OCBC from 1966 to 1983, holds around 26 percent of one of Singapore's oldest trading houses whose assets include metals trading, hotels, properties, and one of the world's largest tin smelters.

The Lee Family had last month raised its Straits Trading offer to S$6.55 from S$5.76 per share, before that offer was trumped by the S$6.70 offer from Cairns, Tecity's investment vehicle.

OCBC, together with insurance unit Great Eastern Holdings (GELA.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), controls about 25 percent of Straits Trading. ($1=1.395 Singapore Dollar) (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; editing by Kevin Lim & Ian Geoghegan)