A total of 377.46 million shares worth RM606.26 million were crossed off market, in blocks of at least 500,000 shares, from Nov 19 to 25.

The trading of an 11.36% stake in Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd was the biggest shareholding change, in relative terms, during the week in review. The 85.8 million shares changed hands via direct deals on Nov 21, at RM1.36 to RM1.37 apiece — a shade higher than the day’s close of RM1.35.

Of these transactions, 73.5 million shares or a 9.73% block was bought by Felda Investment Corp Sdn Bhd (FIC). According to a Nov 24 filing, the same number of shares changed hands at RM99.96 million or RM1.36 apiece. The filing confirms The Edge Financial Daily’s report that FIC bought a near 10% stake in Barakah to gain exposure to the oil and gas industry.

Another buyer was the company’s founder and Deputy Executive Chairman Nik Hamdan Daud. Filings show that he bought 3.02 million Barakah shares at RM1.36 each, through United Power Holdings Ltd. His total stake now stands at 51.7%, of which 47.78% is held directly.

Over at Berjaya Auto Bhd (BAuto), off-market data shows that 58.28 million shares changed hands in direct deals, at RM186.5 million or RM3.20 apiece on Nov 25. The seller was Tan Sri Vincent Tan’s Berjaya Corp Bhd, which sold 60 million shares or a 7% stake on the same day.

The filing made no mention of the price, but the off-market deal was done at about 4.76% below BAuto’s close on the open market that day.

With the sale, Berjaya Group is left with 296.88 million shares or 36.74% equity interest in BAuto — significantly below its 64.41% holding when BAuto went for listing two years ago.

Meanwhile, YSP Southeast Asia Holding Bhd saw 3.2 million shares or a 2.41% stake change hands off market, at RM4.58 million or RM1.43 apiece on Nov 20. The pharmaceutical player closed at RM1.42 that day.

The seller was likely Lembaga Tabung Haji, which disposed of the same number of shares on Nov 20, according to a Bursa Malaysia filing dated Nov 25. This came just eight days after the pilgrims fund raised its stake to 10% from 7.44%.

YSP closed at an all-time high of RM1.74 in August this year. Since then, however, the stock has fallen and it closed at RM1.42 last Wednesday. The company recently reported a net profit of RM964,000 for the second quarter ended June 30, which was just a quarter of last year’s.

Masterskill Education Group Bhd (MEGB) saw 10 million shares change hands off market, in direct deals at RM6 million or 60 sen apiece on Nov 19.

The seller was likely executive director and largest shareholder Siva Kumar M Jeyapalan, who on Nov 10 agreed to sell his entire 32.9% stake in the loss-making academic institution, should it receive an offer from SMRT Holdings Bhd and private equity fund Creador LLC’s Raphia Ltd. Creador is led by Brahmal Vasudevan.

A decision will be made after due diligence, and an offer would trigger a mandatory general offer for the rest of MEGB.

Siva Kumar’s stake decreased to 30.22%, after he sold the 10 million shares or 2.66% equity interest to Raphia for 60 sen each. Meanwhile, Raphia’s stake rose to 19.3%. MEGB closed at 75.5 sen last Wednesday. It was queried for unusual market activity on Nov 24, after its shares more-than-doubled since mid-September.

Teo Seng Capital Bhd saw 4.01 million shares or 2.01% equity interest change hands, at RM8.42 million or RM2.10 per share on Nov 25.

The chicken egg producer’s net profit for the nine months ended Sept 30, jumped 73.2% year-on-year to RM30.65 million. The company, which attributed the rise to higher selling prices for its eggs, recently declared a special dividend and announced a one-for-two bonus issue.

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on December 1-7, 2014.

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