KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 29): PeterLabs Holdings Bhd’s (KL:PLABS) substantial shareholders — former executive director Datuk Loh Saw Foong and his wife Datin Lin Ching Yein — have agreed to repurchase the company’s 60% stake in unit Thye On Tong Trading Sdn Bhd (TOTT) and repay inter-company debt owed by the unit as part of their settlement agreement with the company.
Loh and Lin will repurchase the 60% stake in consumer goods distributor TOTT from PeterLabs at a price not exceeding what it was sold to the company in 2022, PeterLabs said in a bourse filing on Wednesday. The pair had sold TOTT to PeterLabs for RM10.8 million in a cash and share deal.
According to PeterLabs, Loh has also agreed to undertake personal responsibility for the repayment of RM12.9 million inter-company loan owed by TOTT to PeterLabs Sdn Bhd (PSB), a wholly-owned unit of the company.
The company also disclosed that Loh and Lin will jointly pay a RM552,741 sum as part of the agreement "and in consideration thereof, all parties agree that this agreement constitutes a full and final settlement of all existing or potential claims and disputes between them, except for any matters expressly excluded from the settlement."
Loh’s resignation as executive director of PeterLabs and executive director Yap Siaw Peng’s resignation as a director in TOTT were also among the items of the settlement agreement.
“All parties will be withdrawing their respective claims in legal proceedings against each other without liberty to file afresh and with no order as to costs,” PeterLabs added.
To recap, PeterLabs, PSB, TOTT, Loh and Lin had entered into a settlement agreement on Tuesday, marking the conclusion of all matters arising from or connected with the management, operations and affairs of PeterLabs, PSB and TOTT.
The disputes started in May, stemming from an internal probe into Loh’s unspecified alleged misconduct. Loh was suspended pending the probe, which was lifted a month later.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission was also involved as it raided both the offices of PeterLabs and TOTT, in which Loh is a general manager, after a report was lodged by the company over the allegations involving Loh.
Shares in PeterLabs ended 1.5 sen or 6.67% higher at 24 sen on Wednesday, valuing the company at RM64.62 million.