New Datapulse chairman makes mandatory cash offer at 9 cents per share
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The Singapore Exchange currently has Datapulse Technology on its watchlist.
PHOTO: BT FILE
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SINGAPORE - Mr Ang Kong Meng, the newly appointed chairman of Datapulse Technology following a recent shake-up of the company’s board,
The offer comes shortly after he acquired some 41.9 million Datapulse shares from the company’s former chairman Aw Cheok Huat via a married deal – which is an off-market transaction between two parties on an agreed price. These shares represented just shy of 17.5 per cent of the company’s share capital, excluding treasury shares. Datapulse is currently on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) watch list.
Prior to the acquisition, Mr Ang owned some 61.6 million shares, or a stake of about 25.7 per cent. Following the acquisition, his stake was lifted to about 43.2 per cent, or 103.5 million shares.
This triggered the mandatory conditional cash offer for all the company’s shares excluding treasury shares and those already owned, controlled and agreed to be acquired by him.
An announcement by SAC Capital, the financial adviser to Mr Ang, said the offer price is final and he does not intend to revise it.
The offer price is 2.2 per cent lower than the counter’s last transacted price of 9.2 cents last Thursday, ahead of the trading halt called for by the company.
The price is on a par with the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) for Datapulse shares traded over the past month, but represents discounts of 3.2 per cent, 4.3 per cent and 5.3 per cent against the VWAPs per share for the three-month, six-month and 12-month period, respectively.
The offer price also represents a 68.7 per cent discount on the company’s net asset value of 28.75 cents per share as at Jan 1, according to its last published financial statements.
The offer price for warrants will be one cent in cash. This price is based on the highest amount paid by the offeror and parties acting in concert with the offeror in the six months prior to the offer announcement date.
As at the offer announcement date, Mr Ang holds about 50 million warrants and does not intend to exercise any of the warrants he holds during the period from the offer announcement date until the date the offer is declared to have closed or lapsed.
The offer is conditional upon Mr Ang having received valid acceptances for him to control more than 50 per cent of Datapulse by the close of the offer.
SAC Capital said Mr Ang intends to maintain the present listing status of the company on the SGX and to carry on its existing businesses.
The offeror has no intention at present to introduce any major changes to the existing businesses of the company, redeploy fixed assets of the group, or discontinue the employment of the employees of the group other than in the ordinary course of business, it added.
“However, the offeror retains and reserves the right and flexibility at any time and from time to time to further consider any options or opportunities which may present themselves and which the offeror regards to be in the best interests of the offeror and/or the company,” it warned. THE BUSINESS TIMES
