KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — Nasdaq-listed MOL Global Inc, which had a dismal debut on the stock exchange, plummeted into deeper woes when it announced that it would delay reporting its third quarter 2014 financial results and that its chief financial officer Allan Wong had resigned due to personal reasons.
A host of US law firms said they were investigating potential claims on behalf of investors concerning possible violations of federal securities laws.
MOL Global’s announcement on Nov 21 saw its shares, which had begun to rally after its under-performing initial public offering (IPO), plunge 53.84 per cent from US$8.86 to US$4.09. (RM29.68 to RM13.70)
On its Nasdaq debut in October, MOL Global’s shares opened at US$10.75, or about 14 per cent under their IPO price, and closed at US$8.14, giving it a market capitalisation of about US$537 million.
The company raised US$169 million in its listing exercise, below the US$300 million it had been hoping for. Its stock price has since gone up by about 10 per cent.
The company had been scheduled to release its third quarter results on Nov 21 itself. It has now rescheduled this to Dec 3, 2014 before the market opens, and will be holding a conference call at 9pm (MYT) to discuss its financial results. Company officials were not available to comment as at press time.
What should have been the highest point in Malaysian dotcom pioneer Ganesh Kumar Bangah’s 14-year entrepreneurial journey is now probably his lowest.
The soft-spoken founder and chief executive officer, also a Digital News Asia Digerati50, had made history when MOL Global became the first Internet company from Southeast Asia to list on Nasdaq.
This came in the wake of the e-payment company recording a solid first-half performance, seeing net profit more than double to RM11.2 million versus RM5.1 million in the first half of last year. It also registered a 33 per cent gain in revenue to RM105.1 million from RM78.7 million a year ago.
Meanwhile Wong, who joined the MOL Global in August 2014, tendered his resignation as the group chief financial officer (CFO) effective immediately due to personal reasons, MOL Global said in a statement.
Jonathan Yoon Soon Chong, currently the chief financial officer of MOL Global subsidiary MOL AccessPortal, will replace him in the meantime.
“I would like to thank Allan [Wong] for assisting and guiding our team through the IPO process. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours,” Ganesh said in the statement issued by MOL Global.
Prior to joining MOL Global, Wong had worked for Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong as managing director in its corporate finance division. He also served as a director at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch investment banking division and before that as a vice-president at the Credit Suisse investment banking division, both also in Hong Kong.
US law firms which said they were investigating the company include Glancy Binkow & Goldberg; Holzer & Holzer; and the Rosen law firm, which said it was preparing a class-action suit on behalf of investors.
The Pomerantz law firm said it was investigating whether MOL Global and certain of its officers and/or directors have violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (PDF), which cover manipulative or deceptive practices, and the liability of controlling persons or those who aid and abet violations, respectively. — Digital News Asia
This article was first published here.
