London Asia’s comeback offer
Article Date: Oct 16 2009
London Asia Capital's troubleshooting chief executive Keith Negal is unravelling the company's complex web of investments
De-listed London Asia Capital plans to return to AIM, with a new Chinese partner taking a ‘significant’ stake.
Troubleshooting chief executive Keith Negal, a frequent recent visitor to the People’s Republic as he endeavours to unravel previous boss Simon Littlewood’s labyrinthine web of investments, says that Wuhan Kaidi Group, a co-investor in one of its projects, has agreed to the ‘possibility’ of buying either existing or new shares in London Asia. Negal explains that this investment by Kaidi, whose chairman Chen Yilong is ‘a highly respected entrepreneur in both business and political circles’, would mean that London Asia Capital ‘will relist’.
Says Negal, in a letter to shareholders: ‘talks progressed to the possibility of Kaidi making an partial offer at 5p per London Asia Capital plc share in cash to all existing shareholders or subscribing for new shares at 5p per shares or a combination of both buying shares from shareholders who wish to sell and subscribing for new shares’. He adds that the venture in which both parties are invested, Zhongying Changjiang International Credit Company, itself also an investment company, ‘has increased substantially in value’ to £13.5 million but requires further funding from the pair.
Hedge fund QVT has requisitioned a shareholders’ meeting, where it is seeking to effect a number of changes, including replacing the current board with new directors, one of whom is Brett Miller of broker Astaire Securities. The intention of Negal, a former army bomb disposal expert with a track record of sorting out troubled companies, is to gain shareholder approval at next month's general meeting for London Asia’s 2007 accounts so that it can re-list on AIM.
Negal, who adds that he plans soon to update shareholders and ‘the appropriate authorities’ with ‘a summary of our findings with regard to the activities of my predecessor, Mr Simon Littlewood’, says the company’s unaudited net asset value is £24.6 million, including £8.3 million of ‘cash or near cash’, equivalent to 10.7p per share.
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