Allied Tech adjourns EGM till completion of special audit

CATALIST-LISTED precision engineering firm Allied Technologies, which recently made headlines over its missing S$33 million escrow funds, will not be holding its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on June 4 as scheduled.

Instead, the meeting will be convened only after the upcoming special audit has been completed, the company said on Tuesday in a regulatory filing.

The EGM was supposed to ratify the July 2018 acquisition by Allied Tech of 59,415 ordinary shares in Activpass Holdings - representing 51 per cent of the entire issued and fully paid-up share capital of Activpass - from Seow See Keong and Leow Ai Li Amy for S$25.2 million in cash.

Allied Tech had in July 2018 announced that the Activpass acquisition had been completed with shareholders' approval not previously obtained. However, SGX has directed that Allied Tech to aggregate the Activpass acquisition with another acquisition as one. Consequently, this would constitute a major transaction under Catalist rules and shareholders' approval is required for the Activpass acquisition.

However, as the company is in the process of appointing a special auditor to look into the areas of concern earlier identified by its independent auditor, Allied Tech decided to adjourn the EGM till after the completion of the special audit. This is so that shareholders will be able to take into consideration the findings of the audit, explained Allied Tech in the filing.

Among issues raised by the independent auditor was some S$33 million held in escrow by JLC Advisors, which were subsequently reported to be missing. SGX Regulation (SGX RegCo) then directed Allied Tech to expand the scope of its upcoming special audit to include developments surrounding the missing funds, and the progress of Allied Tech's attempt to recover the money.

Allied Tech has to finalise by June 14 the appointment of the special auditor, who is to report solely to the regulator on the scope and all findings of the special audit.

According to the circular earlier issued for the EGM, Activpass is in the business of operating a suite of Software as a Service solutions that combines a cloud-based intelligent customer engagement system, a business management platform and consumer mobile marketplace application within the fitness, wellness and beauty services industries.

Allied Tech last traded at 1.1 Singapore cents on May 2, before it requested for a trading halt on May 3 and recommended on May 8 that the trading halt be converted to a voluntary trading suspension with immediate effect.