KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 21): Datuk Che Azizuddin Che Ismail, former chief executive officer (CEO) of Konsortium Logistik Bhd, has emerged as a substantial shareholder in KBES Bhd, with a 5.17% stake.

This confirms a report published by The Edge weekly on May 25, that the businessman could surface as a new substantial shareholder in the transportation outfit.

It was reported then that Che Azizuddin could have acquired a stake in privately-held Sani Zaleha Sdn Bhd, which now holds 27.42 million shares or a 21.76% stake in KBES. Sani Zaleha is the single largest shareholder of the company.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, KBES said Che Azizuddin had acquired some 6.52 million shares in the company today. The transaction price was, however, not disclosed.

Che Azizuddin was formerly a substantial shareholder and CEO of Konsortium Logistik, but had sold his stake to Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) in October 2010.

After exiting Konsortium Logistik, Azizuddin took over another transport company, Arca Transline Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Warisan Movers Sdn Bhd).

Shares in KBES (fundamental: 0.8; valuation: 0.9) closed half a sen or 1.45% lower at 34 sen today, for a market capitalisation of RM42.8 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)