Moya discloses acquisition talks after shares climb 13%

Singapore

INDONESIAN water treatment company Moya Holdings Asia is in negotiations for a potential acquisition of a company which is in a similar business as the group.

This is in line with its strategy to grow its business in the region, the Catalist-listed firm announced on Thursday after market close, following a surge in its trading volume and share price in the morning.

The counter had risen 13.4 per cent or 0.9 Singapore cent to reach an intraday high of 7.6 Singapore cents at around 9.26am and again at 10.12am. It then eased to 7.4 cents as at 11.13am, just before Moya called for a trading halt. It lifted the halt after releasing the announcement.

About 25.4 million shares had changed hands by then, which made Moya one of the most heavily traded securities by volume on the Singapore bourse in the morning.

There is no assurance that any definitive or binding agreement will be reached or that any transaction will materialise from the acquisition talks, Moya cautioned in its bourse filing on Thursday evening. Its board added that the group reviews and/or enters into discussions relating to new investment opportunities that may arise from time to time.

In the event that there are any material developments, Moya will make an announcement at the appropriate time. The firm also advised shareholders and investors to refrain from taking any action in respect of their Moya shares which may be prejudicial to their interests, and to exercise caution when dealing in the company's shares.

Separately, last week, mainboard-listed Gallant Venture - a developer, master planner and manager for industrial parks and resorts in Batam and Bintan - announced that it was planning to issue S$10.3 million worth of new shares to Moya's managing director, Irwan Atmadja Dinata, who is investing in the shares in his personal capacity.

Indonesian tycoon Anthoni Salim has a deemed interest of 72.84 per cent in Moya shares, as well as a deemed interest of 67.39 per cent in Gallant shares, according to Gallant's filing on Dec 13.

Jakarta-based Moya is one of the largest water treatment companies in Indonesia. It invests in, develops and operates water treatment facilities and pipelines to distribute clean water to thousands of businesses and homes in the country.