Mercurius gets deadline extension to stay listed, takes out S$1.75m in loans

THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) has granted Catalist-listed Mercurius Capital Investment another deadline extension, till Jan 31, to retain its listing status.

Mercurius has to complete its joint venture (JV) with Thailand-listed property developer Apex Development and demonstrate its business viability by investing in Grand Bay Hotel by that deadline. Otherwise, Mercurius will be deemed as a cash company.

In June, Mercurius said it was looking to take a 50 per cent stake in Thai private property developer Grand Bay Hotel for more than 335 million baht (S$15 million) from Apex. It then announced in July that it would start a private equity fund for resort and leisure property investments in the Indochina region.

On Sunday, the company said that the deadline extension from SGX is subject to Mercurius receiving an undertaking from its director who would make funds available to the company via advancements, if required, to buy the remaining 30 per cent stake in Grand Bay Hotel.

In another filing on Sunday, Mercurius also announced that three of its shareholders have agreed to extend S$1.75 million in one-year convertible loans, carrying an interest of 10 per cent per annum.

The loans can be converted into a maximum of about 19.3 million shares, or 1.51 per cent of Mercurius' enlarged share capital, at S$0.10 per share. The conversion price was arrived at following arm's length negotiations between the individual shareholders and the company, Mercurius said. It represents a 100.8 per cent premium over the volume weighted average price of S$0.0498 per share for trades done on Dec 11.

About S$1.6 million of an approximate S$1.7 million in net proceeds from the loans will be used for business and investment opportunities, including the partial payment of the final instalment related to the JV with Apex as announced in June.

The remaining S$138,000 from the convertible loans will be used for general working capital.

The loan principal comprises S$800,000 from Gwee Sung, S$700,000 from Cheah Bee Lin, and S$250,000 from Tan Wan Teen Wendy. Ms Gwee holds a 1.96 per cent interest in Mercurius while Ms Cheah owns 4.9 per cent and Ms Tan holds 0.49 per cent.

Shares of Mercurius Capital last traded up S$0.007 or 15.9 per cent at S$0.051 on Dec 11.