This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 2014/596/EU which is part of domestic UK law pursuant to the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) regulations (SI 2019/310).

19 January 2024

Bowen Fintech plc

("Bowen" or the "Company")

Interim Results

Bowen (LSE: BWN), a special purpose acquisition company formed to acquire businesses in the technology innovations market with a focus on the financial services sector, announces its interim results for the six months ended 31 October 2023.  

Summary

·    Evaluated a number of potential acquisition targets and identified a suitable opportunity - Minnadeooyasan-Hanbai Co., Ltd ("MOH") - with attractive revenue growth, clear pathway to quality earnings and not reliant on raising new capital

·    Post period, signed conditional, non-legally binding heads of terms to acquire 93.49% of the issued share capital of MOH, an established and profitable crowdfunding services platform in Japan

·    Subject to due diligence, final transaction documents and various approvals, the Company will acquire MOH for c. £34.47 million to be satisfied through the issue of new shares priced at 15p, representing a 25% premium to the Company's closing share price on 21 December 2023, the day prior to the announcement

·    As the acquisition would constitute a reverse takeover under the Listing Rules, trading in the shares of the Company was suspended on 22 December 2023, pending completion of the transaction or the termination of discussions

·    As of 31 October 2023, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of £1.6 million (30 April 2023: £1.7 million)

Website Publication

A copy of this announcement, together with the full Interim Report with financial statements and notes to the financial statements, can be found on the Company's website at: https://ukbowen.com/

Enquiries

Chairman's Statement

Dear Shareholders, 

It is with pleasure that I present these interim financial statements of Bowen Fintech Plc (the "Company") for the six-month period ended 31 October 2023. 

During this period, we worked tirelessly to identify and evaluate a number of potential acquisition targets for the Company. In addition to the criteria previously set out, we were keen to identify a transaction opportunity that would not be wholly reliant on raising significant new capital given the prevalent challenging market conditions. At the same time, we made a conscious effort to preserve cash in the Company as much as possible and as is practical. 

We are pleased to report that we did identify a suitable opportunity with attractive revenue growth and clear pathway to quality earnings, and on 22 December 2023, shortly after the period, we announced the signing of conditional, non-legally binding heads of terms to acquire 93.49% of the issued share capital of Minnadeooyasan-Hanbai Co., Ltd ("MOH").  

MOH is an established and profitable crowdfunding services platform in Japan and solution provider for local investors seeking returns from investment into real estate. The head office is located in Tokyo and MOH is regulated under the Real Estate Specified Joint Venture Act in Japan. In the last 16 years, MOH management has advised that it has arranged over JPY 217 billion (c. £1.2 billion at the prevailing exchange rate) in capital raising from the Japanese market.  

MOH is majority owned by Kyosei Bank Co., Ltd ("KBC"), a privately owned company in Japan, and provides crowdfunding services to a property holding and management company within the same corporate group as KBC. This provides MOH with a proprietary pipeline of projects to facilitate funds for, and (where it has the resources to do so) occasionally MOH itself may participate in the acquisition of land for development. 

Subject to due diligence, final transaction documents and various approvals, the Company will acquire a 93.49% interest in MOH for a consideration of approximately £34.47 million to be satisfied through the issue of new shares in the Company priced at 15p per ordinary share, representing a 25% premium to the closing middle market price the day before the announcement of the proposed acquisition.  

As the acquisition would constitute a reverse takeover under the Listing Rules, trading in the shares of the Company was suspended on 22 December 2023, upon the request of the Directors, pending completion of the transaction or the termination of discussions. We look forward to completing the transaction as soon as practical during 2024 and we will continue to update the market on our progress.  

Mr. Aamir Ali Quraishi

Non-Executive Chairman