Shares in fintech and digital commerce company IOUpay Ltd (ASX: IOU) are sat in limbo at the time of writing amid a company-requested trading halt.
Before it was put on the back-burner, the IOU share price was set to open at 18.5 cents, a slight gain from last week's close.
Let's take a closer look.
Why is the IOU share price halted?
The company requested a trading halt to be put in place on its shares today, in relation to the acquisition of a 42% interest in I.Destinasi Sdn Bhd (IDSB). IDSB is a provider of consumer credit services in Malaysia.
The trading halt is requested to be in place until the commencement of trade on 2 December 2021 or when that announcement is released to the market.
IOU previously announced the acquisition back in September, where it penned a letter to investors outlining the particulars.
It is set to acquire the interest on a $41.3 million consideration finalised over 2 tranches in a 6-month period. A contingency in the deal could allow IOU to acquire IDSB for less if its pre-tax profit is less than $9.8 million for FY21.
IOU will finance the transaction on an all-cash consideration that will be completed in 50% lots, pursuant with the 2 tranches outlined above.
In a separate release last week, the company also advised that it was waiting for consent from one of IDSB's banking partners to finalise the acquisition. It appears this may have been finalised judging by IOU's language today, but the company is yet to confirm in full.
Today's announcement builds on momentum after the company released its operations update last week. In that report, IOU recognised $3.2 million in total transaction value (TTV) whilst growing its consumer downloads by 67% since September 30.
The company's operations in Malaysia is performing, securing over 100 merchants operating more than 300 outlets to the myIOU platform during this quarter so far.
It has also deployed staff to grow its base in regional areas outside of the Klang Valley central economic hub which is by Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
There has been no movement on this update since the ASX announced the trading halt earlier in the session on Tuesday.
IOU share price snapshot
In the last 12 months, the IOU share price has gained almost 9% after rallying another 12% this year to date.
Despite this, it has fallen 26%% in the last month and has collapsed a further 12% this past week alone.
