SINGAPORE, April 9 ― Alexander Molyneux, chairman-designate of Blumont Group Ltd, one of three Singapore stocks whose trading is being probed by police and a regulator, dropped a plan to buy shares in the company because of lawsuits.
Molyneux won’t proceed with a purchase of 135 million shares in Blumont, the Singapore-based commodity trader said yesterday in a statement. The company said Octotber 7 that Molyneux will buy the stock from shareholders including Executive Chairman Neo Kim Hock. Blumont dropped 9.8 per cent to 3.7 Singapore cents as of 9:58am in Singapore. The stock plunged 98 per cent through yesterday from its all-time high of 2.45SGD (RM6.33) on September 30.
Neo was sued by Coutts & Co in February to recover 19.9SGD million after a plunge in the value of his shares in Blumont, Asiasons Capital Ltd. and LionGold Corp held as collateral, according to a lawsuit filed in the Singapore High Court. A slump in the three companies erased US$6.9 billion (RM22.3 billion) of market value in October. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the police are jointly investigating suspected trading irregularities, the regulator said last week.
“Neo was the main provider of the shares and his shares are in locked up in dispute with the banks,” Molyneux said yesterday in a phone interview. “There’s no point of dragging this on forever.”
Neo didn’t respond to two emails seeking comment. An email sent to August Consulting, Blumont’s external corporate communications company, wasn’t immediately answered.
The company “will consider the latest developments and seek to meet up with Molyneux to make a decision regarding his position as chairman-designate, as soon as possible,” Blumont said yesterday in the statement. The commodity trader gave no reason for Molyneux cancelling the deal.
Deferred twice
The police asked Blumont’s G1 Investments Pte to assist in a probe into potential offences under the Securities and Futures Act, according to an April 2 company filing. Investigators requested access to all corporate electronic data from January 1, 2011, to date, information-technology equipment and data-storage devices belonging to Neo and Executive Director James Hong, Blumont said.
The completion of Molyneux’s investment in Blumont has been deferred twice, according to Blumont. The deal was originally scheduled to be completed in November.
Molyneux remains a consultant and key adviser to the company’s board, according to yesterday’s statement. Molyneux was ousted as chief executive officer of coal miner SouthGobi Resources Ltd in September 2012 after Aluminum Corp of China Ltd dropped a takeover bid. The offer was withdrawn after Mongolia passed a law restricting foreign state-owned companies from controlling key assets. ―Bloomberg
