KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 2): Bursa Malaysia has approved Khee San Bhd's request for the suspension of the candy manufacturer's share trade from 9am to 5pm today pending the release of a material announcement, Khee San said in a statement on Bursa's website today.

Khee San's share price closed at 30.5 sen on Friday (Nov 29) for a market capitalisation of RM34.89 million.

On Sept 11 this year, Khee San said it had on that day entered into a heads of agreement (HoA) with Wah Kong Corp Sdn Bhd (vendor) to negotiate on the planned acquisition of equity interest in Wah Kong subsidiaries Momentum Strike Sdn Bhd, Yew Fatt Marketing Sdn Bhd, YFM Distributors Sdn Bhd and HC Hin Marketing Sdn Bhd.

Khee San said in a Bursa filing that it will issue new shares in Khee San to Wah Kong as payment for the acquisition.

"The HoA will enable Khee San and the vendor to exclusively negotiate on the terms of the conditional share sale agreement (SSA) for the proposed acquisition. The SSA will be executed between the parties within one month from the date of the HoA or within such other period, as shall be mutually agreed between the parties. A detailed announcement on the proposed acquisition will be released upon signing of the SSA.

"Upon the SSA becoming unconditional, the vendor will become a substantial shareholder of Khee San, and depending on the purchase consideration, may be required to extend a mandatory take-over offer to acquire the remaining shares in Khee San not already held by the vendor and its persons acting in concert at an indicative offer price of 33 sen per share pursuant to the rule 4.01(a) of the rules on take-overs, mergers and compulsory acquisitions issued by the Securities Commission Malaysia," Khee San said.

On Oct 10 this year, Khee San said the company and the vendor had on that day agreed to extend the effective period of the HoA from Oct 10, 2019 to Oct 31, 2019.

On Oct 31 this year, Khee San said the HoA had lapsed following expiry of extension.

"The HoA could not proceed further as it is still pending the consent from the creditor banks and certain other creditors. Nonetheless, the company (Khee San) shall continue to procure an amicable settlement arrangement with the creditors to address the matter.

"Notwithstanding the above, the company shall continue to pursue other potential investors who have expressed their willingness to enter into potential transactions with the company. Khee San shall assess the suitability of these proposals for the best interest of the company and its stakeholders. Any further development on the above matters shall be announced in due course," Khee San said.