Challenger’s majority shareholders exercise right of compulsory acquisition

Following the right of compulsory acquisition, the offeror will own all the shares of the company and Challenger will be delisted. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - The majority shareholders of Challenger Technologies have exercised the right to compulsorily acquire all shares of the company – particularly the shares of shareholders who have not accepted the offer as at the close date.

Following the right of compulsory acquisition, the offeror will own all the shares of the company and Challenger will be delisted from the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange at a date and time that will be announced in due course, UOB said on behalf of the offeror, DigiTech Holding, on Monday.

DigiTech Holding is the bid vehicle of a consortium formed by Challenger’s majority shareholders.

The consortium comprises Asia Consumer Electronics, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) linked to Dymon Asia Private Equity, and Fortuna Capital – an SPV that is wholly owned by Challenger chief executive Loo Leong Thye.

DigiTech’s initial cash offer for Challenger was $0.56 per share, but this was then bumped up to a final offer of $0.60 per share. 

The offeror had garnered more than 90 per cent of the total shares of the consumer electronics retailer, according to a June 23 bourse filing, which had resulted in the public float of the shares falling below 10 per cent.

As at the close of the offer on July 25, DigiTech had received valid acceptances representing about 97.8 per cent of the total number of shares in the company.

UOB said on Monday that the remittances for the appropriate amounts will be despatched to dissenting shareholders through their central depository securities accounts, or a crossed cheque drawn on a bank operating in Singapore by ordinary post, if their shares are held in scrip form.

These will be done “as soon as practicable”, UOB said. THE BUSINESS TIMES

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