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SINGAPORE – Novena Global Healthcare group co-founders and directors Terence Loh and Nelson Loh have agreed to legally separate all of their business interests, Terence Loh told The Straits Times on Wednesday (October 7).
Mr. Terence Loh issued a statement saying that a “separation agreement” was signed between the cousins and former business partners on October 6. Nelson Loh, whose whereabouts is unknown, did not release his own statement.
Under the agreement, Terence Loh will transfer all of the shares he owns in the Singapore-registered Bellagraph Nova (BN) group to Mr. Nelson Loh for $ 1 and will resign as director.
Mr. Nelson Loh will transfer all the shares he owns in three corporate entities: Novena Global Healthcare Group, registered in the Cayman Islands and all its subsidiaries, Dorr Global Healthcare International registered in Singapore and Rock Star Advisors registered in Singapore, to Mr. Terence Loh for $ 1. He will also resign as director of these three entities.
“This is a legally binding and mutually agreed document that clearly separates the business interests that Nelson and I have been involved in since 2008,” Terence Loh said in the statement. “We have gone through many challenges together and the time has come for each of us to chart our careers and goals separately.”
The Lohs agreed to complete the stock transfers and resignations from senior positions by Nov. 5, provided there are no unforeseen difficulties. Both parties will sign a written agreement if an extension is required.
The separation agreement follows recent media coverage of the Lohs and their network of companies.
Last month, The Straits Times reported that the accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) had made a police report on allegedly unauthorized auditing firms on some Novena Global Healthcare Group financial statements.
In his statement, Mr. Terence Loh said that the separation agreement “provides me with clarity to resolve legal and corporate problems of the companies that are transferred to me.”
“In connection with the alleged forgery of Novena Global Healthcare Group accounts, I unequivocally declare that I did not participate in the forgery. I have remained in Singapore and remain available to assist the Department of Business Affairs.”
BN Group issued a statement Tuesday night saying that it “understands that Mr. Terence Loh is trying to resolve the issues (arising) from the Novena Global Healthcare incident, so we had mutually agreed that (he) should resign from the group BN “.
It read: “Novena Global Healthcare is not part of BN Group because we did not complete the merger before news of Novena’s falsification of financial statements came out.
“The BN group has never been consolidated or, by chance, is linked to Novena Global Healthcare and its falsified financial statements,” he added.
Mr. Terence Loh declined to comment on the BN Group’s statement. “My focus is to do everything possible to preserve and enhance stakeholder value in the corporate entities of which I am a director. The role that others have played in the current difficulties will become clear in due course, ”he said.
BN Group President Evangeline Shen and co-founders Terence and Nelson Loh burst into the limelight in August for their £ 280 million (S $ 491 million) takeover offer for English Premier League club Newcastle United.
But the ambitious gamble quickly soured after doctored photos of them and former US President Barack Obama surfaced and inconsistencies emerged in publicity materials.
“With reference to press statements related to corporate actions proposed by BN Group, the separation agreement cites Nelson Loh’s recognition that Terence Loh, although a director of BN Group, was not involved in any business decisions within the company.” added.
BN president Evangeline Shen had been quoted by international media earlier this month as saying that BN Group was still seeking a takeover offer from English Premier League club Newcastle United.
“Nelson acknowledges that … his views (of Terence Loh) and his approval as a director of BN Group were not sought prior to” Shen’s comments on the continuing offering, according to the statement.
Mr. Nelson Loh also “acknowledges that he remains responsible for all the guarantees he executed despite the separation of interests” as set forth in the separation agreement.
Other firms linked to the Lohs have also come under scrutiny, including Axington, a Catalist-listed company owned by the Lohs.
The disclosures prompted the regulatory arm of Singapore Exchange to request an evaluation of its board members for their “experience, expertise, character and integrity”, and prompted a series of resignations from board members, starting with the independent director and former US Ambassador to Singapore Kirk Wagar.
A deal that was meant to initiate Axington’s major business shift and expansion into the medical and consumer wellness sector has hit a roadblock after shareholders rejected its proposed acquisition of the Malaysia-based medical products distributor. Vesta Apex Trading.
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