SHARES of live-streaming platform 17Live Group : VT1 0% closed 18.8 per cent or S$0.73 lower at S$3.15 on Friday (Dec 8), the company’s first trading day following the completion of its business combination with Vertex Technology Acquisition Corporation (VTAC).

Some 74,500 shares were traded.

VTAC shares ended Thursday trading at S$3.88. Just before the special-purpose acquisition company (Spac) listed in January 2022, its initial public offer price was S$5 per share.

Meanwhile, one of its cornerstone investors – Fullerton Fund Management – has redeemed all of its 2.6 million shares that had amounted to a 6.25 per cent stake in VTAC, a regulatory filing by the live-streaming platform on Friday showed.

Like other redeeming shareholders, Fullerton was paid S$5.01 a share, grossing about S$13 million in proceeds for the fund manager. This is 59 per cent higher than Friday’s closing price.

Last month, Phillip Securities and research firm Beansprout recommended investors to take up the redemption offer.

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VTAC’s combination with 17Live was passed at an extraordinary general meeting last Friday. That day, independent shareholders also opted to redeem close to two-thirds of the Spac’s share capital.

Non-redeeming VTAC shareholders would receive bonus shares for staying through the business combination with 17Live.

“The listing of 17Live marks not only Singapore’s first completed de-Spac transaction, but also the first live-streaming company to be listed on the SGX,” said the company, which mainly operates in Japan and Taiwan. It also has a presence in Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, the Philippines, India and Malaysia.

The total issued share capital of the company, including the newly issued consideration shares, base private investment in public equity shares and special bonus shares, increased to 177,371,431 from 41,606,000 shares.

Alex Lien, chief executive of 17Live, noted that the listing would reinforce the platform’s leading position in the live-streaming field.

“Our vision of a live-streaming ecosystem to better connect people anytime and anywhere will be brought closer to fruition with the support of the investing community, even as the group continues to pursue new and exciting growth opportunities to thrive in the digital entertainment sector.

In 17Live’s latest business update, its losses for the first half year of FY2023 widened to US$118.2 million from US$42 million in the year-ago period. For the previous financial year, it registered a full-year loss of US$51 million.

The deepened loss in H1 was driven by a 24.7 per cent drop in revenue at US$151 million, which the company attributed to the normalisation and resumption of economic activities after the pandemic, as well as its shift to focus on profitability by targeting quality users over scale.