Qannas will leave AIM to get its deal done – On 3 September 2019, Qannas announced that it was planing to enter into a an agreement to buy a substantial portfolio of assets. It had trading in its shares suspended from AIM while it finalised this. Today, it says that getting the deal done in parallel with preparing the relevant documentation for the AIM market is beyond it. “Following discussions with the vendors of the Portfolio, it has recently become apparent that there is a material risk that the Transaction will lapse before an AIM admission document can be finalised”
It will leave the AIM market entirely, become a private company, hopefully do its deal and then think about readmitting its shares to trading on a market which may or may not be AIM.
“The Company intends to publish a circular providing further details on the Cancellation and convening an extraordinary general meeting (the “EGM”) of its shareholders to approve the Cancellation to take place in December 2019. The Cancellation will be conditional upon consent of not less than 75% of votes cast by Qannas’ shareholders at the EGM. The Board notes that Abu Dhabi Financial Group (“ADFG”), the Company’s majority shareholder, has an interest in 75.87% of the Company’s issued share capital and ADFG has indicated its intention to vote in favour of the Cancellation. Subject to shareholder approval, it is expected that the Cancellation will take effect during December 2019.
The Company’s shares are currently suspended from trading on AIM and will remain suspended prior to the proposed Cancellation.
In the event that Shareholders approve the Cancellation, Shareholders will not be able to buy or sell Shares on AIM prior to the Cancellation becoming effective.
The Board is aware that the proposed Cancellation, should it be approved by shareholders at the EGM, would make it more difficult to buy and sell Qannas’ ordinary shares following the Cancellation. The Board intends to put in place an internal process that will allow shareholders or persons wishing to acquire or sell Qannas shares to provide an indication to the Company’s administrator, Estera, that they are prepared to buy or sell at an agreed price. The Company will have no obligation to arrange transactions between parties that are willing to buy and sell Shares.”
[We cannot recall this ever happening before. If you a minority shareholder in Qannas you don’t get any real say in what happens next – this spells out the dangers of investing in a company controlled by a single shareholder.]
QIL : Qannas will leave AIM to get its deal done