AMTC in breach of agreement, say Swiber interim judicial managers (Amended)

THE appointed interim judicial managers (IJMs) of Swiber Holdings said in a statement issued on Thursday that AMTC is in breach of the terms of a subscription agreement for preference shares in Swiber Investment Limited (SIL).

The statement also said no representative of AMTC has contacted the IJMs following AMTC's claim in an Aug 6 report by The Business Times that it has flown a representative to Singapore last week to work on the deal with Swiber. AMTC also told BT the deal with Swiber was still alive.

The statement reiterated that SIL has engaged legal advisers to advise on the next legal course of action to enforce its rights against AMTC pertaining to the preference share subscription agreement that both parties signed on June 9.

The IJM statement in reference to a July 11 announcement by Swiber Holdings, the listed parent company of SIL, said the subscription agreement signed on June 9 called on AMTC to fork out US$200 million for 1,000 preference shares issued by SIL.

Following the signing of the agreement, AMTC had confirmed in writing to SIL that the former had satisfactorily completed its due diligence and SIL had fulfilled all its obligations under the subscription.

The completion date of the transaction was amended to June 29 by mutual agreement in writing on June 25 between the two parties. On June 27, AMTC asked for further extension of the deadline to make payment but SIL refused.

AMTC is therefore in breach of the terms of subscription agreement, the statement said.

The statement also highlighted the subscription agreement was to take place on or before June 16 pursuant to the terms of the agreement, which suggests the deal would have lapsed.

In the meantime, the IJMs are focused on preparing the IJMs' Report to be submitted to the High Court on whether there are prospects to achieve one or more of the statutory objectives of judicial management.

The head of advisory at KPMG, Bob Yap, who also acted as one of the three IJMs, however, said: "We are open to discussions with any serious investors."

Swiber has filed a judicial management application with the High Court after dramatically reversing a winding-up petition. The IJMs' Report will be submitted to the High Court by Sept 2 and a judge pre-trial conference will be held on Sept 5.

Amendment note: The press release incorrectly stated that the due date for the completion of the AMTC deal was July 16. The correct date should be June 16. The article has been revised to reflect this.