Suncity Group Holding said it has requested its stock resume trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday pending a decision on whether it needs to make an offer for all outstanding stock not owned by executive director Andrew Lo and other directors.
Trading is also expected to resume at Suncity’s Summit Ascent unit, the two groups said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The securities have been suspended since May 13th.
Suncity said that it is required under stock exchange rules to make a mandatory offer to buy out minority shareholders, after Lo bought an outstanding loan from a creditor to former CEO Alvin Chau. That transaction resulted in Lo, and other directors acting in concert, owning 74.98 percent of the company.
However, Suncity also said that it had made a ruling application under Note 8 to Rule 26.1 of the Takeovers Code for a waiver of that requirement.
Suncity said it has requested the Takeover and Mergers Panel to determine what constitutes an appropriate offer price, given “there is a particularly novel, important or difficult point at issue.”
The offer price to be made is subject to the outcome of the Takeovers and Mergers Panel meeting, it said.
“The prices of the Suncity Offers are subject to the determination by the Takeovers and Merger Panel and the Executive has yet to indicate their view on the Ruling Application,” it said.
“Shareholders and potential investors of the company are advised to exercise extreme caution when dealing in the securities of the company, and if they are in any doubt about their position, they should consult their professional advisers.”
Suncity said in December that it had been informed that Chau’s company had failed to pay back HK$313.6 million that was secured by Chau’s 74.8 percent stake in Suncity and other convertible bonds.
Chau was arrested in late November last year and is being held in jail in Macau on charges of organizing illegal online gambling and money laundering.
