RM1.47b takeover offer for Kian Joo called off

PETALING JAYA: The RM1.47 billion takeover offer for Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd was called off last Friday on mutual termination by the company and the offeror, Aspire Insight Sdn Bhd.
In a filing with the stock exchange last Friday, Kian Joo said they had mutually agreed to terminate the business sale agreement (BSA) and its ancillary agreements. 
"The BSA, ASA (asset sale agreement) and PSA (property sale agreement) will cease to have any effect and will become null and void and neither party shall have any claim whatsoever against the other," it said.
To recap, Aspire Insight, which is controlled by the Employees Provident Fund and Kian Joo COO Freddie Chee Khay Leong, had in November 2013 launched a takeover offer for Kian Joo, with a price tag of RM1.47 billion, or RM3.30 per share.
The long-drawn-out takeover exercise was, however, not without any incident.
In a bid to prevent Can-One Bhd, a 32.9% shareholder of Kian Joo, from voting for the sale of Kian Joo's assets and liabilities to Aspire Insight, Kian Joo's former director Datuk Anthony See Teow Guan filed a lawsuit against Can-One. See's legal action was largely based on the connection between certain directors and Can-One, which he claimed made the deal a related party transaction.
Nonetheless, in November 2014, the Kuala Lumpur High Court struck out See's lawsuit against Can-One, clearing the way for Aspire Insight to proceed with its planned takeover of Kian Joo, which is involved in manufacturing packaging products such as aluminium cans and corrugated cartons, among others.
Kian Joo shares fell 1 sen to RM3.14 last Friday and Can-One dropped 2 sen to RM4.04. Meanwhile, Box-Pak (Malaysia) Bhd, a 54.83% subsidiary of Kian Joo, saw its share price slide 11 sen or 4.04% to RM2.61.