SINGAPORE - TT International said on Thursday (July 18) that Seychelles-incorporated firm Celestial Palace, the purchaser of shares in various subsidiaries, will be investing in the company via a convertible loan of $48 million, in order to provide alternative funding to help implement a new restructuring scheme.
The purchaser, now an investor, may also at its option convert the full amount of the drawn down convertible loan of up to $48 million into shares at a conversion price of $0.01 apiece, conditional to conversion shareholder and regulatory approval.
Up to $45 million of that amount will be used to fund the implementation of the new scheme, and terminate agreements struck in the previous proposed disposal, purchaser loan and bridging loan.
The move comes after the consumer electronics retailer had assessed the impact its new scheme of arrangement has on its ongoing arrangement with the investor, it said in a regulatory update.
It added that following discussions with the investor, both parties have agreed to terminate the proposed disposal, the management services agreement, the purchaser loan of $7.5 million and the bridging loan of up to $3 million.
Neither TT International nor the investor will have any claim of any nature against each other in connection with the agreements.
On April 18, TT International applied to the High Court for an extension of the existing moratorium, which expired on April 30, 2019, until July 31, 2019 instead.
It also applied for an extension, till the same date, of the long stop date for the implementation of its scheme of arrangement. The scheme involves the sale of shares in various subsidiaries to Celestial Palace, that invests in consumer electronics products, furniture as well as mid to high-end luxury goods.
The High Court had approved the new scheme in March subject to amendments and conditions.
The scheme, announced on July 31, 2018, was built on TT International selling in full 10 wholly owned subsidiaries of the group involved in furniture and consumer electronics sales, for a sum of $48 million.
Its restructuring scheme excludes the company's 51 per cent subsidiary Big Box Singapore, which owns the Big Box warehouse mall in Jurong East. The unit's voluntary liquidation was initiated in September 2018.
Trading in the company's shares has been voluntarily suspended since Aug 4, 2017.
