Oxley Holdings has announced a proposed distribution of dividend in specie from the ordinary shares it holds in Aspen Group Holdings to its shareholders.
As at Sept 8, Oxley owns some 101.34 million shares in Aspen, or a 9.4% stake in the total number of shares in the latter.
Oxley took a substantial stake in Aspen back in April 2018 after it subscribed for 97 million shares at 24 cents each.
Aspen shares closed at 4.9 cents on Sept 8, down 55.45% year to date.
Under terms of the proposed distribution, Oxley shareholders will receive 0.023 of Aspen shares for every Oxley share they hold, or 23 Aspen shares per 1,000 shares in Oxley. Fractional entitlements will be disregarded.
In its statement dated Sept 8, Oxley says that no payment will be required from its shareholders for the proposed distribution. The Aspen shares will be distributed “free of encumbrances and together with all rights attaching” when the proposed distribution is completed.
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Oxley says that the proposed distribution will unlock “shareholder value” by enabling shareholders to individually and directly participate in the ownership of, and enjoy returns from, securities held in two separately listed entities without any additional cash outlay in accordance with “individual investment objectives”.
Shareholders who decide not to keep the Aspen shares can opt to sell all or an amount of their Aspen shares as the shareholders may in their absolute discretion decide in the open market, or to any potential buyers upon the completion of the proposed distribution.
Upon the completion of the proposed distribution, Oxley will own 3,964,473 Aspen shares, representing approximately 0.4% of the total number of issued shares in the latter (excluding Aspen shares held in treasury).
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Aspen was in the news recently after receiving a public reprimand from the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
The group was reprimanded on Aug 26 for its breach of the listing rules in relation to its disclosure of its master supply agreement (MSA) with Honeywell International.
Just a day earlier, Ching Chiat Kwong, Oxley's executive chairman, resigned from his post as the non-independent, non-executive director of Aspen, as he's "unable to allocate sufficient time and resources" to his duties at Aspen.
Shares in Oxley closed 0.1 cent or 0.63% up at 16 cents on Sep 8.
