SINGAPORE, Nov. 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TKO Pte. Ltd. ("TKO”) (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ZICO Trust (S) Ltd, which holds all of the shares of TKO in its capacity as sole trustee of Phileo Trust, a family trust constituted under a trust deed pursuant to which Tan Sri Tong Kooi Ong ("Dr. Tong”) is the sole beneficiary) has announced today that it has acquired from a single vendor as a private acquisition via a married trade completed through the facilities of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited a total of 183,246,925 ordinary shares of Avarga Limited ("Avarga”), a company with a head office at 1 Kim Seng Promenade, #13-10 Great World City West Lobby, Singapore 237994, at a purchase price of S$0.25 per ordinary share for an aggregate purchase price of S$45,811,731.25 (approximately CDN$48,101,355.791) (the "Acquisition”). Following completion of the Acquisition, Dr. Tong will own directly or indirectly, or exercise control or direction over, 481,493,925 ordinary shares of Avarga, representing approximately 53.0% of the total number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Avarga. Dr. Tong may, in the future, increase or decrease his beneficial ownership, control or direction over securities of Avarga in accordance with applicable laws. Avarga currently owns, directly or indirectly, or exercises control or direction over 77,708,814 common shares of Taiga Building Products Ltd. ("Taiga”), a company with a head office at #800 - 4710 Kingsway, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5H 4M2, representing approximately 69.7% of the total number of issued and outstanding common shares of Taiga. Prior to the Acquisition, Dr. Tong did not own, directly or indirectly, or exercise control or direction over any common shares of Taiga (other than an indirect interest through his beneficial interest in shares in Avarga). After the Acquisition, Dr. Tong owns, directly or indirectly, or exercises control or direction over, 77,708,814 common shares of Taiga, representing approximately 69.7% of the total number of issued and outstanding common shares of Taiga. This change will represent an increase of approximately 69.7% in the total number of issued and outstanding common shares of Taiga controlled by Dr. Tong. Dr. Tong's acquisition of ordinary shares of Avarga is being made for investment purposes. Pursuant to the Singapore Code on Take-overs and Mergers (the "Code”), as a result of the acquisition, TKO is required to make a mandatory unconditional general cash offer for all the issued and paid-up shares in Avarga other than those already owned, controlled and agreed to be acquired, directly or indirectly, by TKO and certain parties acting or presumed to be acting in concert with it (as defined in the Code). Dr. Tong may, in the future, increase or decrease its beneficial ownership, control or direction over securities of Taiga in accordance with applicable law.

For more information, or to obtain a copy of the subject early warning report, please contact:

Caryn Foo

Telephone: (65) 6838 1307

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1 The exchange rate used for the currency translation from S$ (Singapore dollars) to CDN$ (Canadian dollars) in this document shall be the rate of S$95.24 to CDN$100 with reference to the exchange rate on 8 November 2024 obtained from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.