Dr. Tong Increases Stake in Taiga Building Products Through Avarga Acquisition

SINGAPORE, Nov. 11, 2024 — 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 183,246,925 ordinary shares of Avarga Limited (“Avarga”) from a single vendor through a private acquisition via a married trade completed through the facilities of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited. The purchase price was S$0.25 per ordinary share, totaling S$45,811,731.25 (approximately CDN$48,101,355.79¹) (the “Acquisition”). After the Acquisition, Dr. Tong will directly or indirectly own, control, or direct 481,493,925 ordinary shares of Avarga, representing about 53.0% of Avarga’s total issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Dr. Tong may increase or decrease his beneficial ownership, control, or direction over Avarga securities in the future, adhering to applicable laws. Avarga currently owns, controls, or directs 77,708,814 common shares of Taiga Building Products Ltd. (“Taiga”), representing approximately 69.7% of Taiga’s total issued and outstanding common shares. Before the Acquisition, Dr. Tong did not own, control, or direct any common shares of Taiga (except for an indirect interest through his beneficial interest in Avarga shares). Following the Acquisition, Dr. Tong owns, controls, or directs 77,708,814 common shares of Taiga, representing approximately 69.7% of Taiga’s total issued and outstanding common shares. This change signifies an increase of approximately 69.7% in the total number of issued and outstanding common shares of Taiga under Dr. Tong’s control. Dr. Tong’s acquisition of Avarga ordinary shares is for investment purposes. The Singapore Code on Take-overs and Mergers (the “Code”) mandates a mandatory unconditional general cash offer for all issued and paid-up shares in Avarga, except those already owned, controlled, or 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), due to the acquisition. Dr. Tong may increase or decrease its beneficial ownership, control, or direction over Taiga securities 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.