Pteris

Pteris: will acquire the remaining 30% of passenger boarding bridge manufacturer, Tianda from Shenzhen TGM for Rmb208.4m ($41.3m), as part of its RTO plans. This is in addition to the the 70% of Tianda to be acquired from CIMC (HK) for $96.3m, announced in Jul. Valuer JLL will value Tianda and issue a report in due course. Like its purchase of the previous stake in Tianda, Pteris will issue new shares at 13¢ each to satisfy the deal. Pteris will issue 230.8m shares amounting to $30m, and another $7.2m to be raised at a later date, depending on Tianda’s profit conditions. Another $3m of new shares will be issued subject to the result of ongoing arbitration proceedings involving Pteris and a Middle East project. The final $1.1m will be satisfied subject to the settlement of claims relating to outstanding payments due from third parties. When the RTO was announced, some shareholders had grumbled about the valuation. Pteris' NAV stood at 9.6¢ a share as at end-Sep, even though the terms of the reverse takeover are at 13¢ share. But in its 2012 annual report, Pteris revealed that independent valuers had revalued its leasehold building - understood to be their headquarters at 28 Quality Road - to $53m, compared with the $18m that the building was held at cost on its books. This would boost its restated net asset value (RNAV) to $87.7m, or 16¢ a share, 23% higher than the RTO price. In addition, the company also has outstanding arbitration and settlement claims. Pteris's second largest shareholder, non-executive director Winston Tan Tien Hin, who has a deemed stake of 10.5% said "The RTO pricing is too low." Mr Tan has been accumulating shares in the company. The RTO is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.