The Edge Singapore earlier reported that iFast shares plunged nearly 11% within the first hour of trading on Aug 19 to an intra-day low of $8.63 after the block trade, which was first reported by Bloomberg.
iFast confirms there were “a few married trades” totalling 14.35 million shares transacted at $9.12 on the morning of Aug 19, representing an average 6.7% discount to Monday’s closing price of $9.77.
iFast “believes this to be a share placement by CP Invest, which was handled by UBS and Morgan Stanley”.
CP Invest had pared its stake in iFast twice earlier this year. The investment holding company sold 75,000 shares for $559,117.50, or $7.45 apiece, on Jan 2, bringing its stake in the company to 10.99% from 11.01%.
After the release of the digital wealth management platform operator’s results for FY2024 ended Dec 31, 2024 on Feb 12, CP Invest sold 872,700 shares in iFast, netting it some $6.84 million, or $7.83 per share, on Feb 13. Its stake in iFast subsequently fell to 9.95% from 10.24% previously.
Temasek Holdings does not have any direct interest in the shares of iFast. Temasek is deemed interested in the shares through Cuscaden Peak and DBS Group Holdings.
At iFast's results briefing and annual general meeting on April 28, iFast chairman and CEO Lim Chung Chun acknowledged a "perceived share price overhang" after CP Invest pared down its stake. CP Invest had a 9.75% direct interest in iFast as at March 7, according to iFast's latest annual report.
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Lim was responding to shareholder questions about a 12% share price plunge despite 1QFY2025 net profit rising 31.2% y-o-y.
As at 2.11pm, shares in iFast are trading 83 cents lower, or 8.5% down, at $8.94. After today’s decline, iFast shares have risen nearly 20% year to date.
