Interim orders against Ascot Leisure-Fairway deal

Thursday, 8 February 2018 00:13 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Commercial High Court has issued several interim orders against the deal struck between Ascot Leisure Ltd., and Fairway Holdings Ltd., following shareholder action.

In a disclosure to the CSE, Ascot Holdings PLC said the Company and its subsidiary Ascot Leisure were served with notice of three interim orders, following a case filed by shareholder Mohamed Firdouse Farook.

One is an interim order preventing the Company from taking any steps to give effect to the purported transfer of the 75% shareholding of Ascot Leisure Ltd., purportedly transferred by the Company to Fairway Holdings, on 4 September 2017. The other is an interim order preventing Ascot Leisure from taking any steps in respect of 75% shareholding of Ascot Leisure purportedly transferred by the Company to Fairway on 4 September 2017. The third is an interim order preventing Fairway Holdings from acting as the owner of and/or transferring and/or taking any steps in relation to the 75% shareholding of Ascot Leisure purportedly transferred by the Company to Fairway on 4 September 2017.

Farook holds 1.32 million shares amounting to 10.47% stake of Ascot Holdings. He was appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Company on 7 November 2017, being the date on which the Board was reconstituted to the change of ownership of the Company.

As per the Court notice, the purported transaction had taken place on 4 September 2017 but Ascot originally disclosed it to the CSE only on 12 September 2017.

In that filing, Ascot said Fairway will be purchasing 75% stake of Ascot Leisure for Rs. 20 million, to be paid to Ascot Holdings, and a further Rs. 50 million as capital in Ascot Leisure. The subsidiary has obtained the land and all approvals for a 30-room hotel in Yala.