Pine Capital, Advance Capital Partners, Tan Choon Wee reach settlement

CATALIST-LISTED investment firm Pine Capital and its subsidiary Advance Capital Partners Asset Management (ACPAM) have reached a settlement with former interim chief executive and chairman Tan Choon Wee.

The parties reached a global settlement following mediation on Wednesday, Pine Capital said on Friday. 

The settlement follows after the group had, in April, called for an extraordinary general meeting which proposed the removal of Mr Tan, ACPAM's then-CEO and director, from the board of ACPAM. Pine Capital said it did so because it had "received numerous allegations from various parties concerning the operations of ACPAM, including allegations in respect of (a) potential conflict of interest and possible lapses in internal control".

Mr Tan sued the group, saying ACPAM's affairs had been conducted in a manner prejudicial to him. Pine Capital subsequently commenced its own legal proceedings against Mr Tan and other former directors and officers of ACPAM.

Under the settlement, the respective claims and counterclaims in the suits will be discontinued within seven days with no admission of liability or wrongdoing by any party, Pine Capital said.

Settling the suits is in the best interest of the company, Pine Capital said, and will not be prejudicial to the interests of Pine Capital and its shareholders. The settlement is not expected to have any material impact on the group's financial performance.

In July 2017, Pine Capital, formerly known as OLS Enterprise, completed the acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in ACPAM, which is run by Mr Tan. Mr Tan had been financing OLS with a convertible bond programme.

Thereafter, OLS Enterprise was known as Pine Capital. Mr Tan was appointed a non-executive director of Pine Capital in August 2017, and redesignated as interim CEO and executive chairman on June 1, before he resigned in March. Mr Tan remains a 49 per cent shareholder of ACPAM.

He was reprimanded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in April 2019 for omitting information in a capital markets services licence application to the regulator and failing to discharge his duty and function as CEO and director of ACPAM.

Trading in Pine Capital shares has been suspended since March.