Brunei prince and Ron Sim buy into Singapore-listed UnUsUaL in S$25.8m deal

5.39% stake sold at 1% discount to UnUsUaL's Monday closing price of S$0.47

Singapore

BRUNEI'S Prince Abdul Qawi and Singapore's Ron Sim have teamed up to buy a substantial stake in SGX-listed UnUsUaL for S$25.8 million.

The prince and the OSIM founder paid S$0.465 apiece for 55.5 million shares in the concert promotion and events company - or a 5.39 per cent interest - to a subsidiary of entertainment company mm2 Asia.

Following the sale, mm2 Asia's subsidiary, UnUsUaL Management, remains the largest shareholder of UnUsUaL, although its stake has been pared to 76.8 per cent from 82.2 per cent.

mm2 Asia said it has no immediate plans to deploy the proceeds.

The shares were sold at a 1 per cent discount to UnUsUaL's Monday closing price of S$0.47. The counter rose one Singapore cent or 2.13 per cent to close at S$0.48 on Tuesday. mm2 Asia shares gained half a Singapore cent or 1.02 per cent to close at S$0.495.

Prince Qawi acquired 49 million of those shares for S$22.8 million, representing a 4.76 per cent stake. Mr Sim's R3 Asian Gems bought about 6.5 million shares for S$3 million, representing a 0.63 per cent shareholding.

Except for their respective interests in mm2 Asia, none of the directors or controlling shareholders of mm2 Asia has any interest in this transaction, mm2 Asia said in its filing to the Singapore bourse.

mm2 Asia added that the transaction is not expected to have any material impact on the group's earnings per share and net tangible asset per share for the current financial year.

Separately, mm2 Asia's executive chairman Melvin Ang described the new shareholders as "strategic investors".

"UnUsUaL has charted a remarkable growth trajectory since its listing on SGX-ST Catalist slightly more than a year ago, offering more and more international acts, as well as expanding regionally into Taiwan, South Korea and China," he said.

Meanwhile, Prince Qawi said he is excited about UnUsUaL's business prospects as he sees "strong potential in providing high-quality live entertainment to the rapidly growing urban populations in Asia".

"I look forward to helping UnUsUaL connect with strong strategic partners as they continue to diversify their show offerings and expand their regional footprint," he added.

KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE

BT is now on Telegram!

For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes