Novena Hldgs' diversification move voted down at EGM

By Taila Krishnakumar
Apr 29, 2004
The Business Times

INDEPENDENT shareholders have shot down furniture retailer Novena Holdings' diversification move to acquire an additional 56.1 per cent stake in Green World Holdings.

The proposed acquisition - which would have raised the Novena group's stake in the environmental management company to 67.8 per cent - was voted down at Novena's extraordinary general meeting yesterday, scuttling a move to diversify beyond the consumer lifestyle industry.

'As a consequence of the approval not being obtained at the EGM, the Heads of Agreement will cease,' said Novena.

The one-for-one share swap deal would have raised the stake of vendors Seah Hock Thiam, Lee Poh Choo and Han Chick Juan in Novena to about 35 per cent. The vendors already own 4.98 per cent of Novena.

Had the acquisition proceeded, it would have triggered a mandatory general offer for the remaining shares in Novena.

Meanwhile, in an update yesterday on its performance outlook, Green World said it is still optimistic that the results for this financial year would well exceed those of the previous financial year.

The metal-recycler said last week it was 'cautiously optimistic' about remaining profitable for the rest of the financial year.

For the 10 months ended December 2003, Green World announced a net profit of $735,000, versus $1 million for the 12 months ended February 2003. Novena's net profit for the year ended December 2003 soared 137 per cent to $2.1 million.