On Feb 19, executive director Lawrence Toh acquired 1,510,000 shares at an average price of S$0.04 apiece. With a consideration of S$60,410, this increased his total interest from 4.22 per cent to 4.66 per cent.

 

Listed on Catalist, AcroMeta Group : 43F -2.56% is a specialist maintenance service provider for controlled environments and commercial air-conditioning.

 

Toh was appointed to the board in August 2024.

 

He has extensive experience and expertise in the electronic parts and electronic communications equipment industry in the Asia-Pacific region.

 

In January, AcroMeta Group non-executive chairman and independent director Mahtani Bhagwandas said that FY2024 (ended Sep 30) was a period of significant transition for the group.

 

This involved the board taking steps to undertake strategic divestments against the backdrop of persistent global economic headwinds and evolving market dynamics.

 

In pursuit of new growth opportunities, AcroMeta Lifestyle was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of AcroMeta Group. The resolution to diversify the group&rsquo s existing business into this new venture was approved at the Jan 27 annual general meeting.

 

This new business segment will focus on the innovation, distribution, and marketing of lifestyle-oriented consumer electronics.

 

Acknowledging the high competitiveness within the lifestyle-oriented consumer electronics sector, the group also noted that it will initially focus on niche sectors, such as the lifestyle portable audio industry, which according to industry research is expected to see a global compound annual growth rate of 10.9 per cent from 2024 to 2032.

 

Toh also oversees the group&rsquo s business strategy, leading business development activities to explore and assess new opportunities for future expansion.

 

In addition, he manages corporate finance functions in fundraising activities, and handles investor relations and shareholder communication.

 

 

Engineering firm AcroMeta Group plans to acquire a controlling stake in an entity that holds a sand mining concession in Malaysia.

 

Under a non-binding MOU signed on Jan 26, AcroMeta plans to acquire a 60% stake in an entity called Inadel Sdn Bhd, which fully owns the rights to a sand concession area offshore of Negeri Sembilan.

 

The concession covers an area of about 12.2 sq km and located 5.6 nautical miles from Tg. Tuan coastline. 

 

The vendors are Tunku Shahirzade Binti Tunku Azwil and Tengku Dara Binti Tengku Abd Razak.

 

AcroMeta plans to pay for the acquisition via two parts. First, it will extend a convertible loan of RM2 million to Inadel which gives AcroMeta the right to convert the convertible loan into 50,000 new shares of Inadel, or 20% of the total.

 

Next, via a call option, AcroMeta will then acquire 100,000 new Inadel shares, or 40% of the total, worth RM4 million. AcroMeta plans to pay for this by paying not more than 12 million new shares at 10 cents each. 

 

" The group has been actively seeking for new business opportunities and believes that the proposed investment presents an opportunity to expand its business portfolio and achieve greater diversification," says AcroMeta.

ACROMETA intends to divest its life-sciences business as part of a review of its long-term strategy, the specialist engineering firm said on Monday (Oct 21). 

 

The group has entered into an agreement to dispose of all its shares in Life Science Incubator Holdings for S$2.7 million. 

 

AcroMeta&rsquo s executive director Lawrence Toh said the sale would enable the group to &ldquo unlock value for future growth&rdquo : &ldquo We have determined that the group&rsquo s resources and management efforts would be better directed towards other potential business opportunities in mineral-sands trading.&rdquo

 

The proposed disposal will be made conditional upon approval by the shareholders of the company at an extraordinary general meeting to be held in due course

 

Upon the completion of the disposal of these shares, Life Science Incubator Holdings will cease to be a subsidiary of the group. 

 

AcroMeta said on Monday that it has inked a non-binding memorandum of understanding with a Malaysian company, Constance Holding, to facilitate further collaboration in mineral-sand trading. Constance Holding supplies sand for land-reclamation projects across Malaysia.  

 

&ldquo This latest development represents another significant milestone in the group&rsquo s ongoing pursuit of regional opportunities,&rdquo the company said.

 

It added: &ldquo The group is actively engaged in negotiations with potential international buyers, with formal offtake agreements anticipated in the near future.&rdquo

 

The Business Times reported in May 2023 that AcroMeta, having launched Life Science Incubator in 2021, was eyeing an expansion of its business. 

 

AcroMeta&rsquo s then-executive chairman Levin Lee said coworking lab facilities like those at Life Science Incubator rent out laboratories with specialised lab equipment to companies which want to do research, but do not have the space or even capital to set up labs. Coworking lab facilities thus &ldquo let researchers focus on the science and innovating&rdquo instead of wasting time and money on building and maintaining infrastructure. 

 

Lee&rsquo s aim had been to grow the coworking lab business in &ldquo parallel&rdquo with AcroMeta&rsquo s mainstay engineering, procurement and construction operations. 

 

In February 2024, he stepped down as executive chairman of AcroMeta for health reasons. 

 

Alan Cheong, Savills Singapore&rsquo s executive director of research and consultancy, previously said that coworking lab facilities are a &ldquo very niche space&rdquo with high barriers to entry, and which would require operators to have the domain knowledge to target life sciences startups.

 

However, Cushman and Wakefield research head Wong Xian Yang expects demand for coworking lab spaces to grow in the coming years, as Singapore&rsquo s life-sciences industry expands.

 

In August 2024, Lendlease and US private equity giant Warburg Pincus teamed up to acquire a S$1.6 billion portfolio of assets in Singapore from a Reit owned by Blackstone and Lim Chap Huat, Soilbuild&rsquo s executive chairman. 

 

These assets, with a gross floor area of 4.5 million square feet, comprised business parks and high-tech industrial facilities tenanted to blue-chip companies in the life sciences, technology, advanced manufacturing and logistics sectors.

 

AcroMeta&rsquo s executive chairman Levin Lee has resigned from his position due to health reasons. He was appointed to the role of executive chairman on Jan 30, 2023.

 

According to the company&rsquo s filing on Feb 8, Lee is currently on hospitalisation leave and decided to take a longer leave of absence on his doctor&rsquo s advice.

 

As such, Lee will step down from his role as executive chairman and director to focus on his recovery. He will, however, remain on the management of AcroMeta Minerals, AcroMeta&rsquo s mineral products subsidiary, to help the group with the exploration of the sand export business.

AcroMeta Group 43F 0.00% has announced the signing of a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PT. Swadaya Buana Makmur (PTSBM) for the supply of high-grade silica sand from West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

 

Subject to relevant export approvals, a new subsidiary set-up for the proposed business will aim to obtain up to one million tonnes of low iron silica sand with a guaranteed quality of 99.5% purity annually, worth an estimated US$39 million ($52.62 million) on the open market.

 

According to AcroMeta, demand for high-grade silica sand from industries including biotechnology, electronics and pharmaceuticals is increasing due to its use in the manufacturing of precision glass instruments, ophthalmic lenses and LCD screens. 

 

In construction, it is also the main structural component in construction products such as flooring, mortars, cement, roofing shingles and asphalt. 

 

AcroMeta is currently speaking with potential international buyers before entering into formal offtake agreements with PTSBM. Should both parties enter into definitive agreements, the new subsidiary will target to commence its first trade by Jan 15, 2024. 

 

Says group executive chairman Levin Lee: &ldquo The MOU with PTSBM is a synergistic opportunity given the group&rsquo s deep expertise in specialist engineering services as we seek to broaden the group&rsquo s revenue stream. AcroMeta will continue to capture new business opportunities to grow and create shareholder value for its investors.&rdquo