TMC Education surges after Fragrance CEO launches takeover bid
Singapore
SHARES of TMC Education Corporation Ltd surged as much as 120 per cent on Friday on news of a takeover bid by the chief executive of real estate developer Fragrance Group.
TMC Education, which resumed trading on Friday after requesting for a trading halt on Thursday pending the release of an announcement, kicked off at S$0.068 on Friday.
It hit an intra-day high of S$0.088, before closing at S$0.076. Some 414,000 shares worth S$31,100 changed hands.
On Friday morning, it was announced in a Singapore Exchange filing that Singapore tycoon Koh Wee Meng had entered into a share purchase agreement with TMC Education's controlling shareholders Chin Kon Yuen and his spouse, Yeow Cheng Khim, to purchase about 85 million ordinary shares at S$0.0675 apiece.
Mr Koh made the offer through JK Global Assets Pte Ltd, whose principal activity is investment holding.
The mandatory unconditional cash offer follows JK Global Asset's acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in the firm from Dr Chin, TMC Education's executive chairman, and Ms Yeow, director/chief executive officer of TMC Education, that was completed on Friday, said SAC Capital Private Limited on behalf of JK Global Assets.
After the completion of the deal, Ms Yeow will still hold about 11.65 per cent stake in TMC Education.
The offer represents a 69 per cent premium over TMC Education's last traded price prior to Thursday's trading halt of four Singapore cents and a 50 per cent premium to the stock's one-month volume-weighted average price.
Mr Koh does not intend to continue the main education business but has no intention to introduce any major changes to the business of the company, and will perform a strategic review after the offer closes. He also plans to retain TMC Education's Catalist listing status.
The takeover bid comes after TMC Education's late announcement on Thursday, in which the company said that it plans to sell wholly owned TMC Academy to Advanced Investment Holdings - a special purpose vehicle controlled by Dr Chin and Ms Yeow. Based on the independent valuer's preliminary indicative valuation of TMC Academy, the sale shares are worth S$5.2 million as at Sept 30, 2017.
Earlier this month, Mr Koh's bid to take over New Wave Holdings fell through after the lapse of his voluntary conditional cash offer for all the shares in the electronic component supplier. The firm said that at the offer's close on Nov 30, the total number of shares owned, controlled or agreed to be acquired by the offeror and parties acting in concert with it, together with valid acceptances of the offer, amounted to 19.2 per cent of its total shares, far from the over 50 per cent level required.
