SINGAPORE (June 10): As a timber flooring specialist, Jason Holdings had provided more than 30 types of timber species to meet customer preferences and budgets since it was established in 1987. But in the last seven years, the Catalist-listed company’s financial performance and position had deteriorated, following a financial scandal involving its founder.
The company went through a debt restructuring exercise that involved the liquidation of two subsidiaries, leaving it without a core business.
Now, with the completion of a reverse takeover (RTO) of Revez Group, the company is starting a new chapter. It has been renamed Revez Corp. A new management and board of directors have been put in place and the company has also changed its listing sponsor from SAC Capital to Hong Leong Finance. And, of course, it has a new business.
Revez Group, a provider of creative information technology solutions, offers its services mainly for activities related to the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector. They include installing and maintaining interactive touchscreens, virtual and augmented reality simulations, photo booths and other fixtures.
Victor Neo, CEO and deputy chairman of the new entity, says Revez Group offers a unique selling proposition in that it provides a “complete solution” for customers. “We like to call ourselves an experiential IT solutions provider. We not only deal in experiential media but also ICT [information and communications technology],” he tells The Edge Singapore in a recent interview.
The RTO, which was completed on May 23, was conducted through a share swap deal. The company fully acquired Revez Group through the allotment and issuance of 11.6 million Jason Holdings shares worth $42.7 million. This represented a discount of more than 10% from its last traded price of 6.2 cents on Jan 5, 2016.
A compliance placement of 21.6 million shares was also carried out as part of the RTO, raising about $7.9 million, or 36.64 cents each. This was conducted to fulfil the public float requirement, which had fallen short following the allotment and issuance of the consideration shares. Of the gross proceeds, $1.4 million will be used to repay existing debt owed by Jason Holdings. Meanwhile, $4 million will be used to fund expansion plans, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and/or strategic alliances. The remainder of $2.5 million will be used for general working capital and listing expenses.
Neo says a listing on the Singapore Exchange will help to improve Revez Group’s corporate status and image. This, in turn, would enhance confidence among potential customers, he adds.
Neo had been thinking of listing Revez Group on SGX three years ago. But when he met the company’s former executive chairman, Lim Chwee Kim, last year through an introducer, he decided that pursuing an RTO of Jason Holdings was the best way to go about it. This is because the valuation of the shares is fixed and the listing process is faster and cheaper than the traditional IPO route, he notes.
Neo also sees a good working relationship with Lim, who has remained as the enlarged company’s non-executive director. “In business, we must be comfortable with the person. He is supportive and has good business sense,” he says. “At the end of the day, we decided to go with him.”
Revez Group was co-founded in 2010 by Neo and two others — Lim Kian Sing and Lee Han Chong. Kian Sing, 41, is chief operating officer and executive director of the enlarged company. He was previously involved in media content development and IT projects across Southeast Asia. Lee, meanwhile, is chief creative technology officer and executive director. The 37-year-old worked as a researcher at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, product development engineer at Creative Technology and senior software development engineer at Philips Electronics.
As for Neo, who is also 37, he was involved in his family business prior to Revez Group. He also founded an advertising start-up called D’zire Media. Neo says he started Revez Group as he foresaw the rise of interactive technology and wanted to take advantage of the business opportunities in this new space. So, he got Kian Sing and Lee — whom he knew through friends — to start the company with him.
Revez Group’s early customers were mostly from the private sector. They included Johnnie Walker, a premium brand of Scotch whisky. The company provided interactive digital installations for Johnnie Walker events such as Jet Black Party in 2011 and Join the Pact in 2012, which were held in Singapore and Malaysia. Revez Group also worked on a MICE-related project with Hewlett-Packard in Malaysia, South Korea and India.
Given Revez Group’s good track record, the company began to attract local statutory boards and government agencies as its customers. Notably, the company designed and developed NewspaperSG — the national portal for the public to access past issues of various newspaper titles — for the National Library Board. It also developed a permanent touchscreen installation called the Social Table, which has become a featured centrepiece for the National Gallery of Singapore. Neo says the long table, which is covered with 16 screens connected to each other, allows visitors to access artworks in the institution’s collection.
For 9MFY2018 ended Sept 30, the enlarged company’s revenue more than trebled to $4.4 million from $1.4 million in the same period the year before. Its earnings surged more than sixfold to $1.9 million from $276,239 previously. The company had cash and cash equivalents of $754,836 as at Sept 30, 2018.
Neo says he sees bright prospects for the company. This is because many industries are adopting technological solutions to enhance efficiency and competitiveness. “We are in the technology era,” he points out. “You can’t run away from digital solutions.”
