TWO former senior employees of UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH) were charged on Wednesday for allegedly lying to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in relation to reports on a then Catalist aspirant. Lan Kang Ming, 38, and Wee Toon Lee, 34, each face three charges of providing MAS with false information in October 2018 in relation to due diligence reports on an unidentified company applying to list on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. MAS said in a media statement on Wednesday that it was performing an onsite inspection of UOBKH between June and August 2018, to assess the latter's controls, policies and procedures in relation to its role as an issue manager for Initial Public Offering (IPOs). During the examination, Lan and Wee were said to have provided different versions of a due diligence report relating to background checks on a company applying to be listed on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. UOBKH had acted as the issue manager
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By Kenneth Lim
20 June 2012
A Singapore-based private equity fund is now the proud owner of the outstretched arms and slapping palms of popular children’s entertainment brand Hi-5 Australia.
Dragonrider Opportunity Fund II LP, a consumer sector-focused fund managed by Singapore-listed Asiasons Capital, has bought all the assets, including production, licensing, touring and merchandising rights to Hi-5 from Nine Network Australia and Southern Star Entertainment, Asiasons announced yesterday.
The price was not disclosed, but Asiasons managing director Jared Lim said the firm had valued the library of 13 years’ of material at about US$30 million, and that the assets had been acquired at a slight discount to in-house valuations from the sellers, who were in the process of restructuring.
Mr. Lim said the Asiasons team did not get to perform due diligence on the target business itself, so he could not say if the Hi-5 product was profitable or growing.
But based on past experience, he expects that Hi-5 can attain US$10 million in revenue in the next two years, and the target valuation for the company is more than US$50 million in the next three to five years, which would roughly be when Dra-gonrider will be hoping to exit.
Hi-5, which features a five-person cast, is one of the most popular pre-school television shows in Australia and is estimated to have a global audience of about one million children. Each season costs about US$1.5 million to US$3 million to produce, Mr. Lim said.
Mr. Lim, who said his two children are unequivocal fans of the show, stressed that the fund managers will maintain the Australian essence of the show, having hired show veterans Julie Greene and Mel Rogan to continue to head the team.
But the goal was to rapidly grow the brand’s presence in Asia, and the new management might consider having more than one set of Hi-5 cast members in order to facilitate live appearances in a greater number of markets, Mr. Lim said.
Hi-5 has already inked a deal to be broadcast twice a day daily throughout the region on Disney Asia.
“Our priority is to accelerate the growth throughout Asia, so really we’re willing to spend whatever it takes and raise whatever kind of funding is required to achieve these objectives,” Mr. Lim said.
The Dragonrider fund, which recently announced its first US$50 million close, is aiming to be a US$250 million fund with a target internal rate of return of 25 per cent. Asiasons, which also collects fees as the manager, has about a 10 per cent stake in the fund.
Mr. Lim said the group is currently exploring other opportunities in food and beverages, healthcare and education. On the resources front, Asiasons is also looking at the oil and gas sector for opportunities.
Asiasons stock closed at 45.5 cents yeserday, up by 2 cents or 4.6 per cent.