Reject unfair takeover offer for Jasper Investments, says adviser

AN independent financial adviser (IFA) to the board of offshore company Jasper Investments has recommended that shareholders reject a $0.0004 per share takeover offer for the firm, calling it reasonable but "not fair".

The unfairness was due to the offer price's huge discount to historical trading prices for Jasper shares, it said in a circular that Jasper Investments filed on the Singapore Exchange on Monday morning.

"The independent directors may wish to consider advising shareholders who are not prepared to accept the uncertainties facing the future prospects of the group and who wish to realise their investment in the company to sell their shares in the open market if they can obtain a price higher than the offer price."

Jasper's independent directors also said in the circular that they agreed with the advice from the IFA, Tata Capital Markets.

The offer price from Triton Investments No 8 was about 96.3 per cent lower than the volume-weighted average price of the shares traded during the 12 months up until the offer announcement date, Tata noted. It added that after the offer announcement, Jasper stock continued to trade at prices nearly double the offer price.

Based on Jasper's roughly 4.23 billion shares outstanding according to Bloomberg data, the takeover price price values the mainboard-listed company at about S$1.69 million.

Jasper shares were 16.7 per cent or S$0.001 lower at S$0.005 as at 9.40am on Monday, after a half-hour trading halt on the counter was lifted at 9.30am. This latest trading price valued the group at around S$21.1 million.

The mandatory takeover bid for Jasper comes from two majority shareholders who already collectively own a controlling stake of more than 80 per cent. They had bought 80.77 per cent of Jasper for S$1.25 million or S$0.0004 per share in September from Morton Bay.

Jasper Investments had said in late September that the IFA for the offer would be Morgan Lewis Stamford, but later said in early October that the IFA appointed was Tata Capital Markets.