The Taipei District Court yesterday approved prosecutors’ requests to detain XPEC Entertainment Inc (樂陞科技) chairman Aaron Hsu (許金龍) over his alleged involvement in a Japanese firm’s failed tender offer for a stake in the computer game maker, which resulted in massive losses for investors.
The court, which had turned down three previous requests by prosecutors, reversed its decision after new evidence was presented.
No details about the new evidence was available, as the case is under investigation.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The failed deal was the first settlement default in a tender offer in Taiwan’s equity market.
In late May, Bai Chi Gan Tou Digital Entertainment Co (百尺竿頭) announced plans to acquire 38 million shares, or 25.17 percent of XPEC, at NT$128 per share, almost 22 percent more than its share price at the time, saying the Japanese firm was upbeat about the Taiwanese firm’s prospects. The acquisition was valued at NT$4.86 billion (US$154.9 million at current exchange rates).
The bid prompted many retail investors to pick up XPEC shares on expectations that Bai Chi would spend NT$128 per share to buy their XPEC holdings later.
In June, the company’s share price surpassed NT$110.
However, speculation emerged on Aug. 19 that Bai Chi would delay the acquisition, which started to push XPEC shares lower.
In late August, the Japanese firm requested an extension of the deadline for making a payment on the acquisition.
On Aug. 30, the Japanese firm announced it had decided to walk away from the deal, resulting in a settlement default.
The default sent XPEC’s shares tumbling to a low of NT$70.20 on the over-the-counter market on Aug. 31.
The failed acquisition wiped NT$10 billion from XPEC’s market capitalization.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait. “I am grateful and happy to accept this invitation,” Cheng said in a statement from the KMT chairperson’s office. Cheng said she hopes both sides can work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance exchange and cooperation, bring stability to the Taiwan Strait and improve people’s livelihoods. At today's news conference, Cheng said any efforts to
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
RSS