The Philippine Stock Exchange said it cannot compel Asiabest Group International Inc. to disclose details on the intra-corporate dispute between potential investor Tiger Resorts Asia Ltd. and Japanese business mogul Kazuo Okada.
PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran said in a recent interview that with the potential backdoor listing of Tiger Resorts through Asiabest not yet completed, the dispute between Tiger Resorts and Okada was not considered “a material information.”
Okada last month asked the PSE to thoroughly investigate Asiabest Group for alleged misleading disclosures in connection with the share purchase agreement it signed with Tiger Resort.
Okada informed the stock exchange that Asiabest’s supposed comprehensive corporate disclosures were “suspect and outright evasive” as it failed to bring up the tycoon’s pending intra-corporate lawsuit against Tiger Asia as part of his efforts to regain his interest in the company
Okada’s lawyers said the inclusion of his complaint in the disclosure would have an effect on the trading/market value of Asiabest’s securities.
Asiabest earlier reported that majority shareholders agreed to sell two-thirds of the company to Tiger Resorts for P646 million.
Tiger Resort operates Okada Mania, a $2.4-billion integrated resort and casino within Pagcor Entertainment City.
Refran said Asiabest’s comprehensive corporate disclosure on the share purchase agreement with Tiger Resorts was complete after including the details of the change of control in the company and corporate plans.
“Asiabest is not the party to disclose because the transaction has not been closed. But if the new owners come in, then it becomes a material information that they need to disclose,” Refran said.
“We cannot compel the company since it is not yet technically Tiger Resorts,” he added.
Okada on August 29, 2018 filed the lawsuit with the Parañaque Regional Trial Court an intra-corporate lawsuit against Tiger Resorts Leisure & Entertainment Inc., owner of Tiger Resort, and their respective directors and officers.
Okada asked the court to nullify his illegal removal in June 2017 as a shareholder and director of TRLEI and immediately reinstate him to his old post.
