SOME 51.2 per cent of Sunningdale Tech scheme shareholders present at Friday' s scheme meeting voted yes to take the mainboard-listed company private. This is just slightly over the 50 per cent threshold required for the scheme to pass.

 

In addition, 90.3 per cent of the scheme shares represented by votes by proxy was cast in favour of the scheme. This was comfortably above the 75 per cent threshold needed, fulfilling the second criteria for the scheme to be approved.

 

With the scheme to take Sunningdale private approved at the meeting, the mainboard-listed company is expected to last trade on March 8, and delist on April 20, Sunningdale said in a Friday bourse filing.

 

The firm will next be submitting its application to the court to sanction the scheme. It expects the court to hear the matter on March 1.

 

The vote outcome caps a closely-watched tussle between Sunningdale' s offeror and investors who had felt that the original offer price was too low.

 

In November last year, Sunningdale' s chairman Koh Boon Hwee and private equity player Novo Tellus PE Fund 2 announced that they were teaming up to take Sunningdale private at S$1.55 in cash per share via the scheme of arrangement.

 

However, activist investor Quarz Capital Management issued an open statement that the price was " too low" and " significantly undervalues" the firm. The offeror later raised the takeover price to S$1.65 per scheme share, up 6.5 per cent.

 

Subsequently, on Feb 17, Quarz pared down its stake from 8.023 per cent to 7.987 per cent, selling 69,000 shares at S$1.63 apiece. Quarz told BT then that it was " reallocating" its portfolio and focusing on companies that could benefit the most as the pandemic impact subsides.