KUALA LUMPUR (April 2): The major shareholders of ICT Zone Asia Bhd (KL:ICTZONE), which is seeking to transfer from the LEAP Market to the ACE Market, have completed their exit offer for shares they do not own in ICT Zone, which raised their joint shareholding to 65.28%, up from 64.57%.

This is after the joint offerors ICT Zone Holding Sdn Bhd and Datuk Seri NG Thien Phing acquired an additional 4.7 million shares, representing 0.71% in ICT Zone, after the exit cash offer of 20 sen per share concluded on Wednesday. Ng is the promoter and non-independent, non-executive chairman of ICT Zone Asia.

There are further acceptances for 858,755 shares or 0.13% in ICT Zone, which have been received but have yet to be verified as valid or completed.

The exit offer is a mechanism to facilitate the transfer of ICT Zone Asia from the LEAP Market to the ACE Market. The offer provides an opportunity for minority shareholders to exit their investment if they do not wish to continue holding shares in a company transitioning to a different market.

Independent advisor MainStreet Advisers Sdn Bhd had previously advised ICT Zone Asia's shareholders to reject the exit cash offer, deeming it “unfair and unreasonable”.

MainStreet considered the 20 sen offer price unfair, as it represented a discount of 1.95 sen or 8.88% to ICT Zone Asia’s estimated value per share of 21.95 sen, based on a discounted cash flow valuation methodology.

The independent advisor also said the offer was unreasonable because the joint offerors intended to maintain ICT Zone Asia’s listing on the LEAP Market, pending the completion of its transfer to the ACE Market.

As ICT Zone Asia is expected to comply with the public spread requirements under the ACE Market, rejecting shareholders will still be able to participate in the trading of ICT Zone Asia shares even after the closing date, it said. Shareholders "will have a better avenue to fully/partially release their investment either by way of capital appreciation/dividend upon its listing on the ACE Market,” it added.

ICT Zone Asia's shares closed unchanged at 28 sen on Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM185.5 million.

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