This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 2, 2017 - October 8, 2017
WILLOWGLEN MSC Bhd saw 31.38 million shares, or a 12.9% stake, traded off market in three direct transactions on Sept 21 for 80 sen apiece. That represents a 35% discount to the counter’s closing price of RM1.24 that day.
The stock plunged 15.1% over two trading days to hit RM1.18 on Sept 14 after the company announced on Sept 12 that managing director Wong Ah Chiew had extended a mandatory general offer (MGO) for the Willowglen shares he did not control for 80 sen apiece.
The MGO was triggered after his vehicle, New Advent Sdn Bhd, bought a 22.92% block to bump his overall stake to 55%. Wong intends to maintain Willowglen’s listing status.
Last Wednesday, the stock closed at RM1.19, down 30.8% since a high of RM1.72 on July 14. Year to date, it is up 57.62% and has been trading at multiple-year highs.
Meantime, KKB Engineering Bhd saw 5.66 million shares, or a 2.19% stake, change hands in a single off-market trade on Sept 21. The transacted price was 81 sen or an 8% discount to its closing price of 88 sen that day.
As at last Wednesday, the company had not announced any new substantial shareholders. Apart from its two largest shareholders, Kho Kak Beng Holding Company Sdn Bhd (42.89%) and Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (20.05%), only three other shareholders have enough shareholding to sell a 2.19% block in a single transaction.
Having begun the year at RM1.33, KKB Engineering hit a six-month high of RM1.42 on May 3 but fell 38.73% to 87 sen last Wednesday. The last time the stock was under RM1 was in February 2010.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd saw a total of 380.17 million shares, or 4.2% of its share base, traded at RM6.20 across multiple direct transactions after the noon break on Sept 20. The price was a slight discount of 1.74% to its closing price of RM6.31 that day.
The off-market trades totalled RM2.36 billion in value. The counter nearly hit a three-year high of RM7.08 on Aug 30, a 56.98% increase since the year began. But it tumbled to RM6.28 last Wednesday, an 11.3% drop over four weeks.
Some 10 million WZ Satu Bhd shares were sold off market on Sept 25 at RM1.03 apiece or RM10.3 million in total. The first direct transaction saw one million shares change hands while the remaining nine million shares were transacted less than seven minutes later.
The 10 million shares represent a 2.87% block and the transacted price was at a 5.5% discount to their closing price of RM1.09 that day. The first sale was by Tan Jing Xing, who retains 8.78 million shares or a direct shareholding of 2.52%.
Jing Xing also has a deemed interest in the 7.91% stake of her late father, Tan Ching Kee. Ching Kee, former senior executive director of WZ Satu, passed away in February. In August, WZ Satu said it was selling its steel trading unit, WZ Trading Sdn Bhd, to Jing Xing for RM22.8 million.
Last Wednesday, WZ Satu closed at RM1.10 — which is where it began the year at — representing a 19.71% drop from its high of RM1.37 in March.
Leweko Resources Bhd saw a 3.76% stake, or 12.1 million shares, change hands off market late on Sept 26 for 28 sen each, a 1 sen premium over the open-market price. The sale occurred in two direct transactions of 6 million and 6.1 million shares, totalling RM3.39 million in value.
Other than managing director Datuk Leong Wei Keong, who has an overall 30.86%, and executive director Abdul Aziz Jantan, who has a collective stake of 29.43%, the only other shareholder with a stake large enough for the sale is Exact Fortune Sdn Bhd, which has 5.92%, according to Bloomberg data.
Year to date, Leweko gained 154.55% as at last Wednesday’s close of 28 sen. It rose to a multi-year high of 43 sen in May.
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