HanKore seals $1.2b reverse takeover deal

A REVERSE takeover (RTO) deal that will beef up mainboard-listed HanKore Environment Tech with wastewater treatment assets from a Chinese state-owned enterprise has been inked.

HanKore said yesterday that it had agreed to acquire the entire issued and paid-up share capital in China Everbright Water Investments (CEWI) for $1.2 billion. Under the conditional sale-and-purchase agreement, HanKore will pay for the acquisition with the issuance of 1.94 billion new shares.

News of the potential RTO first became known in December, driving HanKore shares to an all-time closing high of $1.48 in March, before they tumbled last month on news that the target's parent, China Everbright group, had been implicated in corruption investigations in China. The stock has since recovered and closed at $1.19 last Friday before yesterday's trading halt.