Alita Resources' proposed delisting gets SGX nod

CATALIST-LISTED lithium miner Alita Resources, formerly known as Alliance Mineral Assets, on Thursday night said the Singapore Exchange had on Feb 18 noted that it "has no objections to the proposed delisting" of the company.

Among other things, Alita need not convene a general meeting to obtain shareholder approval for the delisting, nor provide an exit offer to shareholders. This is because an application has been made in the Australian court to transfer 100 per cent of the shares in Alita to a related entity of China Hydrogen Energy (CHE) for nil consideration.

Last month, BT reported that Alita was pursuing a restructuring in Australia, after accepting a binding A$70 million (S$64.9 million) loan facility from CHE. CHE has put forward a deed of company arrangement to acquire Alita's assets, though little is known about CHE, except that it is a special-purpose vehicle for a Chinese party.

Shareholders of Alita will see their investments go to zero, and about 100 of them are said to be fighting the takeover of their shares by the Chinese entity. One big question is whether Alita's board of directors may have breached continuous-disclosure requirements in the months before the firm ran out of cash.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Alita added that it will provide updates on the date and timing of the delisting in due course.

According to the Singapore bourse's requirements, the deed administrators are also making arrangements for an information session with shareholders and will provide further details in due course through an announcement, the company said.

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Alita shares have been suspended from trading since last August, after a collapse in prices for the battery commodity forced the firm to default on a A$40 million loan from its secured lenders.