KUALA LUMPUR: AbleGroup Bhd managing director Datuk Lim Kim Huat, who together with his wife made a conditional mandatory takeover bid for the company, has managed to get enough valid acceptances to turn the offer unconditional but the response to their offer has been lukewarm.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the marble and granite slab maker that is branching into property development said at the close of the offer on Tuesday, Lim’s company Parallel Pinnacle Sdn Bhd received valid acceptances amounting to a 9.38% stake - unchanged from an announcement made on Oct 25.
That raised the total shareholding of Parallel Pinnacle and the party acting in concert with it (PAC), Golden Century Overseas Ltd, in AbleGroup to 53.36% from 43.97% at the offer document’s posting date.
Therefore, Parallel Pinnacle met - albeit by a small margin - the acceptance condition of getting valid acceptances resulting in it and its PAC holding more than 50% of AbleGroup’s voting shares.
Independent adviser Public Investment Bank Bhd, which estimated the revalued net asset value per AbleGroup share of 22 sen, had said Lim’s offer of 13 sen per share was not fair and not reasonable.
It therefore advised shareholders to reject the offer.
Parallel Pinnacle triggered the obligation to make an MTO after it acquired 10.72% in AbleGroup in September for RM3.68mil or 13 sen per share, boosting the shareholdings of the two ultimate offerors (Lim and his wife), Parallel Pinnacle and Golden Century to 43.97% of AbleGroup’s issued shares.
The offeror has said it has no plan to delist AbleGroup.
The counter closed unchanged at 14.5 sen on Tuesday.