Tee International controlling shareholder Phua Chian Kin receives offers for his shares

MAINBOARD-LISTED engineering group Tee International announced late last Friday that its board has been informed by the company's controlling shareholder, Phua Chian Kin, that he has received offers for the shares in the company held by him.

Mr Phua, who has been in the spotlight for allegedly instructing unauthorised transactions totalling S$6.55 million made by Tee International subsidiaries to related parties, also updated the company on the same night of his shareholdings in the company, which stands at a direct interest of 39.24 per cent and deemed interest of 6.37 per cent.

In a regulatory filing with Singapore Exchange, Tee International said: "Mr Phua has informed the board that he is currently in negotiations with certain third-party purchasers for the sale of part of his shares in the company. Based on the information provided to the board by Mr Phua, the board is not aware if the potential transaction, if completed, will lead to an offer for the shares of the company in due course.

"If and when there are any material developments which warrant disclosure, the company will, in compliance with applicable rules, make further disclosures (if required) as appropriate."

The company stressed that shareholders should note that there is no assurance that the potential transaction will materialise or that any definitive or binding agreement will be reached. If any definitive or binding agreement is entered into, such agreement may also be conditional and there is no assurance that any potential transaction will be completed. "Shareholders are advised to exercise caution in trading their shares," Tee International added.

Mr Phua's updated shareholdings data in Tee International takes into account forced sales of three tranches of shares under his direct interest - separately by three institutions to whom he had pledged parts of his shareholdings.

RHB Securities force sold nearly 41.52 million shares, DB Nominees (Singapore) forced sold 21.88 million shares, and SBS Nominees force sold 18.81 million shares.

Prior to the above forced sales, Mr Phua's direct interest was 51.95 per cent and deemed interest, 6.37 per cent.

The deemed interest, comprising nearly 41.24 million shares, has not been affected by the above forced sales. It consists of nearly 1.24 million shares held by Mr Phua's spouse, Tay Kuek Lee, and 40 million shares held by OCBC Securities through a share financing arrangement.

BT is now on Telegram!

For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes