Asti Holdings' exclusivity period for term sheet with China Fortune-Tech Capital expires

MAINBOARD-LISTED Asti Holdings Limited's two-month exclusivity period in relation to a non-binding term sheet that it entered with China Fortune-Tech Capital Co (CFTC) to divest the STI Group has expired.

In a Singapore Exchange filing, the manufacturer of semiconductor equipment said on Sunday that the exclusivity period granted by the company under the term sheet that was further extended had expired on Dec 15.

"The company may therefore enter into discussions with third parties," Asti said.

Last month, Asti's shares rose about 5.3 per cent at mid-morning on Oct 30, a day after it announced that it extended the exclusivity period of the non-binding term sheet, which was signed on Aug 29, 2017.

The stock was up 0.4 Singapore cent at S$0.08 as at 10 am on Oct 30.

In September, Asti announced that negotiations for the proposed divestment were still ongoing, with the deal valued between S$105 million and S$115 million.

Under the deal, which was subject to certain conditions, Asti granted CFTC the two-month exclusivity period upon signing the term sheet, and both parties were supposed to negotiate the terms for the proposed disposal within that period.

Asti closed 0.6 Singapore cent higher at S$0.088 on Friday.