Axington's request to extend deadline for trading-resumption proposal granted

CATALIST-listed Axington's request for an extension of deadline till March 31 next year to submit a trading-resumption proposal had been granted by the Singapore Exchange (SGX), it announced on Tuesday.

This follows the proposed S$405 million acquisition of a 60-per-cent stake in a Hong Kong Web technology company falling through in August, given that talks with the vendor were not fruitful and the non-binding memorandum of understanding, inked last month, has lapsed.

Axington said in its regulatory update that the extension will provide more time for the company to source for a new viable business and be in a better position to assess and negotiate with potential targets without undue time pressure from an impending potential delisting.

Axington, which does not currently have any revenue-generating business, faces delisting if it does not acquire a new business.

More time is also required for the company to reconstitute its board, to undertake and complete the review of the affairs of the group, as well as to ensure compliance with the company's financial reporting and other statutory obligations.

Furthermore, the uncertainty of travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic has also meant more time is necessary for the group, it said.

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In an outline of key milestones leading up to the March 2022 deadline, Axington said that it plans to enter into a memorandum of understanding by November. It will then proceed to conduct preliminary due diligence and negotiate and enter into a sale-and-purchase agreement before the submission of the trading-resumption proposal to SGX.

Axington suspended the trading of its shares on Aug 31 last year following widely-reported developments involving its controlling shareholders, a pair of cousins who made news back then with an attempted takeover bid for English Premier League football club Newcastle United under the Bellagraph Nova Group. Soon after, several firms linked to them came under intense scrutiny. Police reports were filed amid allegations of accounting fraud in one of the businesses belonging to the cousins.