The fire and heating piping materials specialized corporations TKG Aikang(022220) hit the upper price limit early in trading on the 31st on news of a second tender offer for a voluntary delisting.
As of 9:41 a.m., TKG Aikang was trading at 780 won on the KOSDAQ market, up 180 won (30%) from the previous session.
TKG Aikang said before the open that largest shareholder TKG Taekwang will conduct a tender offer for 16,076,041 shares, equal to 31.04% of the total shares outstanding, at 900 won per share. The tender offer period runs from today through July 19.
This tender offer is the second tender offer for a voluntary delisting. TKG Taekwang also carried out a tender offer in March at the same price of 900 won per share and purchased all tendered shares at the time. As a result, the largest shareholder's equity stake rose from 47.53% to 68.96%.
The largest shareholder plans to push for delisting after additionally securing the remaining shares through this tender offer.
TKG Aikang manufactures and sells piping and firefighting mechanical equipment. The largest shareholder's position is that converting to an unlisted company is necessary to improve management efficiency as the construction downturn prolongs.
Through a filing, the largest shareholder said, "The contraction of downstream industries due to the construction downturn is a 'structural factor' that is difficult to resolve in the short term," and added, "We are pursuing a tender offer to convert the target company into an unlisted company and enhance responsiveness to the deteriorating industry environment through a swift decision-making system and efficient capital allocation."