Penguin International shares surge after announcement on possible transaction

Singapore

SHARES of mainboard-listed Penguin International soared on Monday, after it issued a holding announcement regarding a possible transaction involving shares of the company.

The company's shares closed at 57.5 Singapore cents, up 15 per cent or 7.5 cents from the previous close. It traded as high as 59.5 cents, or up 19 per cent, earlier in the day.

Around 2.5 million shares worth S$1.4 million had changed hands, far higher than the daily average volume of less than 120,000 shares during this quarter.

In an exchange filing on Monday morning, Penguin International's board of directors said it was notified by executive chairman Jeffrey Hing Yih Peir and managing director James Tham Tuck Choong, that they were in non-binding discussions with a potential investor in relation to a possible transaction involving the shares in the company.

"There is no certainty that any specific or definitive agreement will be entered into or that any transaction will materialise from the ongoing discussions," the company said.

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Penguin International, which builds and operates aluminium high-speed craft, added that it will issue a further announcement if and when there are any material developments.

"In the meantime, shareholders of the company are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the shares of the company and to refrain from taking any action in respect of their shares in the company which may be prejudicial to their interests," the board said.

While the share price has surged on Monday, Penguin International is still down 22.3 per cent for the year to date, from the 74 Singapore cents close on Dec 31, 2019.

An investor who bought into Penguin International when it was first listed in October 1997 would have got a negative 13.8 per cent total return, assuming dividends were reinvested into securities, according to Bloomberg data.

The company's annual report showed that Mr Hing was the largest shareholder in the company, with deemed interest of 21.3 per cent as at March 25, 2020. Keppel Corporation also had a deemed interest of 6.2 per cent in the firm.