Hollysys reiterates strong support for Ascendent Capital deal

The company states: “The Special Committee of Hollysys Automation Technologies reiterated its unanimous recommendation that shareholders vote FOR the acquisition of the Company by a buyer controlled by Ascendent Capital Partners, an international and experienced private investment firm headquartered in Hong Kong. Contrary to claims made by Dazheng Group Acquisition Limited the Special Committee has continued to consider approaches and proposals over the last few weeks, in a meticulous, good faith effort and remained open to considering a superior proposal to the deal signed with Ascendent, in line with its prerogatives in the merger agreement and its fiduciary duty to shareholders. The most recent discussions concluded with the determination by the Special Committee that the Dazheng proposal is not superior to the Ascendent acquisition. The Special Committee does not have confidence in the certainty of Dazheng’s equity financing nor its ability to successfully close a transaction, given its constantly changing equity consortium structure, including the last-minute introduction of a new member that is purportedly now its primary source of equity funding but with no proper financial arrangement to provide certainty of funds. Moreover, Dazheng proposed an escrow structure entirely onshore and denominated in RMB.”