Dotcoms mega plans 179m public listing via reverse takeover
Dotcoms mega plans 179m public listing via reverse takeover
Mega.co.nz, the cloud storage company founded by Kim Dotcom, has announced its intention to go public with a backdoor listing on the New Zealand stock exchange. The deal, worth a cool NZ$210m ($179m), will be actioned via a reverse takeover of a local investment shell company.
megaKim Dotcom isn’t known for doing things ‘small’ and that was underlined today with news that the cloud storage firm he founded last year will hit the New Zealand stock exchange.
In keeping with the complex life of the entrepreneur, the plans for the listing aren’t completely straightforward. Mega.co.nz says it will achieve a backdoor listing on the New Zealand stock exchange via a reverse takeover of an existing company.
Earlier this morning TRS Investments, an inactive investment company valued at NZ$2.2m (US$1.88m), said it had reached an agreement to buy Mega Ltd through a share issue to Mega shareholders.
TRS will acquire the shares for NZ$210 million via the issue of 700 million new shares to the shareholders of Mega at a price of 30 cents per share. This will result in those shareholders owning a 99 percent share of TRS.
Once the deal is completed, TRS will change its name to Mega.
While Kim Dotcom himself is longer a director of Mega having stepped down to concentrate on his extradition battle, musical career and political party, his wife Mona owns 26.5 percent of the company.
The acquisition requires TRS to obtain shareholder approval and necessary collateral on or before May 30, 2014.
“The rapid global growth of Mega has generated significant interest from potential investors. Listing on the New Zealand Stock Exchange will allow investors to participate in the ongoing growth of Mega,” said Mega CEO Stephen Hall in a statement.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the deal already has its controversy, with a report this morning that Paul Choiselat, a major TRS shareholder, is facing charges of concealing his interest in listed companies and alleged market manipulation.
Nevertheless, shares in TRS Investments soared to a seven year high, up 600 percent, following news of the takeover.
Mega reports that since its launch in January 2013 it has signed up around seven million users and is currently bringing on board more than 20,000 new ones every day. With encrypted chat video conferencing scheduled for the second quarter, Mega has big things ahead in 2014.
SOURCE:Torrentfreak
