The planned P402 million acquisition of a 67 percent stake in publicly-listed LMG Corporation by Maxwealth Infinity Holdings Corporation (MIHC) has been terminated.

The acquisition of a majority stake in LMG was intended for the backdoor listing of the firm at the Philippine Stocks Exchange (PSE).

In a disclosure to the PSE, LMG said the Share Purchase Agreement dated June 6, 2023 has been mutually terminated by the principal shareholders of LMG, namely Ann Marrieta L. Sytin, Robinson W. Siao, and Value Quest Securities, Corp. as the sellers, and MIHC as the buyer.

“The Corporation was advised by the Sellers that, on August 31, 2023, they sent the Buyer a Notice of Termination of the Agreement,” LMG said.

Under the agreement, the buyer agreed to purchase 129.67 million LMG common shares registered under the name of the sellers at P3.10 per share.

The parties further agreed that the Long Stop Date for the completion and closing of the transaction is Aug. 31, 2023, or such later date as may be agreed by the parties.

The failure to close the transaction by the said Long Stop Date is a ground for termination of the agreement.

“As of August 31, 2023, the closing contemplated in the Agreement has not occurred and the parties did not reach an agreement for the extension of the Long Stop Date,” LMG said.

It added that, “the parties signified their intention to mutually terminate the Agreement. In view thereof, the Sellers exercised their right to terminate the Agreement under Sections 4.6 and 9.1 of the Agreement.”

“Since the Buyer did not acquire the shares of the Sellers, the Revised Rules on Backdoor Listing does not apply,” the firm noted.

A backdoor listing occurs when a listed company, directly or indirectly, acquires the shares or assets of an unlisted company or person or group of persons or vice versa.

“Considering the termination of the Agreement, the Corporation is no longer involved in any acquisition of its shares,” LMG said.

Hence, the firm requested the PSE to lift the trading suspension imposed on the shares of LMG last June 7, 2023.

Based on its website, Maxwealth is headed by its Chairman Alfonso Huang who is “Honorary Consul of Guinea-Bissau to the Philippines, 2022 Philippine Charity Ambassador, and ACCA Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Member.”

Listed are only two other officers, senior vice presidents Landy Lan and Christian Li.

Lan is “Senior Mobile Internet Marketer, Mobile Internet Payment Expert, Consumer Finance Expert, and Marketing Consultant.”

Li, meanwhile,  has a Double Major in Economics and Management at De La Salle University and is “Familiar with financial markets in Greater China (including Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan)” and has “more than 10 years of experience in the financial industry.”

Maxwealth was founded and established in 2021. In 2022, it ventured into the Financial Technology industry in the Philippines with the goal of making the said industry more inclusive by promoting finance, remittances, loans and other economic activities.

The company has also set its sights on accelerating economic development and helping individuals and MSMEs successfully enter the Philippine market.