KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 11): Shares of food & beverage group Oversea Enterprise Bhd saw a volume spike on Thursday with its trading volume rising to 35.13 million.

The small-cap counter was the day’s fifth most actively traded on the local bourse, while its warrant remained unchanged at 3 sen apiece with 3.21 million warrants changing hands.

Oversea's share price rose as much as 2.5 sen or 26.32% to 12 sen in morning trade, before paring gains to 10 sen, still up 0.5 sen or 5.26%.

Oversea Enterprise is in the business of operating food service outlets, manufacturing and wholesale of confectionery, and trading in general and food products. It operates in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The group has had a flurry of corporate exercises since August last year after Anzo Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Chai Woon Chet emerged as the largest shareholder with a 51.976% stake in the group.

Subsequently, the group also raised RM17.46 million by selling 48.5 million new shares in February, undertook a 1-for-3 share split and the issuance of free warrants on the basis of two warrants for every share in March this year.

According to the food & beverage group, its earlier private placement in February had raised a total of RM17.46 million. RM12 million from the total proceeds earmarked for expansion of new outlets and refurbishment of existing outlets have not been utilised while the remainder has been fully utilised as working capital and expenses for the private placement.

More recently, the group passed yet another corporate exercise on Nov 1 which included a private placement of 396.38 million shares and the issuance of 1.72 billion renounceable rights shares to raise up to RM131.24 million, as well as the issuance of new 572.55 million warrants B on the basis of one warrant for every three rights shares.

The newly approved corporate exercise is for the purposes of expansion of new restaurants, upgrading of manufacturing facilities, digital transformation, acquisition & investment of complementary business and/or assets as well as working capital and expenses for the proposals.

The first and final tranche of the private placement of new shares was fixed at 7.37 sen apiece on Thursday, according to a bourse filing.

Oversea said the price represents a discount of 1.84 sen or 19.98% from the five-day weighted average market price of 9.21 sen per share from Nov 3 to Nov 10.

Oversea shares gained 0.5 sen or 5.26% to close at 10 sen today, for a market capitalisation of RM88.48 million.