Ezra Holdings’ co-founders agreed to resolve a six-year legal battle over $208 million of marital assets that includes a stake in the Singapore-based offshore marine company.
Former Ezra Chairman Lee Kian Soo, his ex-wife Goh Gaik Choo and their elder son Lionel, managing director of Ezra, this month dropped their challenges to a Jan. 29 Singapore High Court ruling after agreeing to a confidential settlement.
Lee, 69, was ordered to pay Goh $56 million, including a possible transfer of as much as a 6.2% stake in Ezra, according to the 155-page January decision. Goh, 62, who has personal assets of $27 million, failed in getting a $40,000 monthly maintenance. Details of the settlement weren’t available in court papers.
Goh’s lawyer Engelin Teh declined to comment as terms of the settlement are confidential. Lee’s lawyer Cavinder Bull declined to comment. Lionel wasn’t immediately available for comment, according to an e-mailed statement from Ezra. Its Chief Financial Officer Eugene Cheng said that the case is a private matter between shareholders and the company’s operations aren’t affected.
Lee in May argued that Goh, who left the family during the 2008 financial crisis, didn’t deserve 40% of their joint wealth as ordered by then Judicial Commissioner Lionel Yee. The ex-wife claimed her husband and son colluded to dissipate assets after she filed for divorce, citing “significant differences” including disregard for her Catholic faith and his suspected infidelity.
Lee transferred the Ezra shares at 45 cents to Lionel in 2009 and 2010, a substantial discount to the market price, according to the ruling.
‘Odd’ Explanation
The share transfer “was likely to have been entered by the husband and Lionel to enable the husband to significantly reduce the value of his assets,” Yee said in his ruling. Lee’s explanation that the 45 cents price was arrived at because he was born in 1945 was “odd,” Yee said.
Lee said he made “full and frank disclosure” on his assets and objected to demanding that his son transfer Ezra shares back to him as this would hurt their ties, according to court papers. If Lionel disposed of his Ezra shares this was likely to shake investor confidence and risk bringing down the stock price, he said.
Ezra shares are down 0.5% at $1.005 at 12:17 pm Singapore time.
The share transfer to Lionel was to fulfil an earlier pledge when the company reached $100 million in profit, the husband said in court papers. Ezra posted net income of US$175 million ($221.8 million) for fiscal year 2008.
Annual Report
Lionel owned about 19% of Ezra, according to the company’s annual report. Lee, who stepped down as chairman at the end of 2012 and was paid about $40,000 a month in 2009, had a 1.5% stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Goh earned about $10,000 a month before she resigned in December 2008.
Yee, who’s now solicitor-general, also ruled that the transfer of a 67% stake in a privately-held family investment company to Lionel wasn’t likely to be “genuine,” according to court papers.
Separately, Yee ruled there was no evidence, contrary to Goh’s claim, that Lee held $30.5 million worth of shares in Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings, China’s No. 2 private shipyard.
Lee and Goh started Ezra in 1992 to manage and operate offshore support vessels. The company posted a 19% decline in net income to US$53.6 million in the year ended August 2013. Sales rose 28% to US$1.26 billion.
The former couple had assets in 29 bank accounts, nine properties including on the resort island of Sentosa, stocks, cars such as a Ferrari 360, BMW740Li and club memberships.
The case is Goh Gaik Choo v Lee Kian Soo, DT5683/2008. Singapore High Court.
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