KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 1): City of London Investment Management Company Ltd has mopped up another 0.34% or 476,800 shares in icapital.biz Bhd, strengthening its foothold as the single largest shareholder with a total 10.23% equity interest in the closed-end fund.
 
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, icapital.biz said the acquisition of the 476,800 shares was made from Nov 26-Nov 28 through the open market. However, the price transacted was not disclosed.
 
Together with British activist hedge fund Laxey Partners Ltd, City of London now holds 11.74% in icapital.biz, signifying that the two parties now form an even stronger alliance to act against the company's board of directors. 
 
Already, the two parties have voted out a resolution to reappoint Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim as a director of icapital.biz in the adjourned annual general meeting (AGM) that was held during the previous weekend, leaving the closed-end fund with three vacant seats on its seven-member board.
 
In a filing yesterday (Nov 30), icapital.biz said 27.04% of the shareholders had voted against the resolution on the reappointment of Abdul Aziz, while some 72.96% voted for it.
 
This means that the resolution was not carried, as the reappointment of any director who is over the age of 70 years and retiring, in accordance with Companies Act 1965, requires 75% of votes in favour of it before it can be carried out.
 
Abdul Aziz is a former vice-chairman of both the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Transparency International, the global coalition against corruption.
 
One seat is already vacant prior to the AGM last Sunday, while Tunku Tan Sri Ahmad Yahaya, the chairman of icapital.biz up until Sunday (Nov 30), has resigned. Abdul Aziz's failed reelection has now left another seat vacant.
 
The remaining four seats are occupied by Datuk Ng Peng Hong, David Loo Kean Beng, Harun Halim Rasip and Datuk Tan Ang Meng. In another filing dated Nov 30 with the bourse, icapital.biz said Ng has now been redesignated as its new chairman, replacing Ahmad Yahaya.
 
To recap, City of London, together with Laxey Partners, had voted against the reappointment of Abdul Aziz through a proxy form just two days before icapital.biz's 10th AGM on Oct 11.
 
However, the AGM was adjourned to Nov 30 to deal with the unfinished business of the reappointment of Abdul Aziz, as icapital.biz fund manager Tan Teng Boo deemed the action by the London firms as "unethical" and "oppressing the majority".
 
It is worth noting that the failure of reappointing Abdul Aziz as the company's director came after Tan urged minority shareholders to vote on the reappointment. Tan was of the view that both Laxey and City of London are making a comeback to take control of the fund.
 
"I don't know what their real motive is [this time]," said the fund manager in a press conference on Nov 17. 

In November 2012, Tan successfully blocked City of London and Laxey's entry into icapital.biz's board when the two firms had requested for three board seats in an AGM and failed.
 
icapital.biz closed 0.42% lower to close the day at RM2.37, a steep discount of 21.26% from its net asset value (NAV) of RM3.01, as reported on Nov 27.