NASDAQ-listed Multi-Fineline Electronix (M-Flex) has agreed to a Singapore Securities Industry Council (SIC) ruling to extend the deadline for the fulfilment of certain pre-conditions of its takeover bid for sister company MFS Technology, although M-Flex continues to 'strongly recommend' that its shareholders vote against the offer.

In a further development to the ongoing takeover saga, M-Flex said yesterday that it will extend the deadline to March 31, 2007, in accordance with the SIC's ruling.

The SIC had last month rebuffed M-Flex's second attempt to obtain the council's approval to withdraw its takeover offer for MFS Technology. The US$500 million acquisition would have created the world's second-largest maker of flexible printed circuit boards.

'M-Flex's special committee continues to strongly recommend that M-Flex's stockholders vote against the offer,' M-Flex said in a statement released over the weekend. Under the original terms of the offer, there are certain pre-conditions which could release M-Flex from its obligations to proceed, including the failure of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to declare the registration statement regarding the offer effective by Dec 31, 2006.

M-Flex said that it had filed an amendment to the registration statement with the SEC on Dec 29, although as at Jan 5, the registration statement had not yet been declared effective.

Singapore mainboard-listed WBL Corp owns 55.8 per cent of M-Flex and 55.7 per cent of MFS.

Following the M-Flex announcement, WBL said in a statement that, notwithstanding the extension by M-Flex of the deadline, it will not be extending the Letter of Undertaking which it had signed in March 2006 in connection with the proposed offer, and which expired on Dec 31, 2006.

WBL had previously given an irrevocable undertaking to tender its entire stake in MFS for new shares of M-Flex stock.