TRS shareholder Paul Choiselat mum on support for Mega reverse listing

Paul Choiselat, the controlling shareholder of TRS Investments [NZX: TRS], is staying mum on whether he'll agree to a deal to list Kim Dotcom's Mega data storage and encryption company until he sees the paperwork.

The Melbourne-based Mr Choiselat is currently facing 25 charges relating to market manipulation and concealing his interests in listed companies while he was a director of Q Ltd and Jimbuck Entertainment. The charges were laid by the Australian Securities & Investment Commission in December.

On March 20 the Melbourne Magistrates Court ordered an adjournment for a committal mention on April 7.

Auckland-based TRS plans to buy Mega for $210 million by issuing 700 million shares at 30 cents apiece to Mega shareholders, after undertaking a 148 for 1 consolidation. Mega shareholders would own 99 percent of TRS, which would adopt Mega as its name.

Choiselat's family interests own 73 percent of TRS, making his support for a reverse listing of Mega vital if he retains his stake when shareholders vote on the transaction. If he backs the Mega deal, his family interests would end up owning about 5.4 million shares, or 0.77 percent of Mega, worth $1.64 million at the 30 cent valuation.

Choiselat hasn't been on the TRS board in about five years, and wasn't involved in the transaction, he told BusinessDesk in an email.

"As such, I will consider the matter when documents get circulated to shareholders for the shareholder vote which will be required," Choiselat said. "Similarly, I can't comment on what we might do with our stake in the future."

The Mega deal sparked a flurry of activity in TRS shares yesterday, with a record volume 42.6 million shares, or 3.8 percent of the company's stock, changing hands. The price surged 900 percent to a seven-year high 1 cent, valuing the company at $11.1 million, and the Choiselat family stake at $8.1 million.

Mega chief executive Stephen Hall said yesterday he hopes to conclude the deal in May, though that timeline could slip as various regulatory approvals are needed for it to proceed.

Hall said the company doesn't plan to raise any capital in the immediate future, though it may consider a share purchase plan to let existing TRS shareholders get a meaningful stake in Mega after their share consolidation.

(BusinessDesk)