KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 22): Icon Offshore Bhd plunged as much as 20 sen or 21% on speculation major shareholders sold the shares upon expiry of the company's initial public offering (IPO) lock-up period.

Marine vessel provider Icon fell to a low of 77.5 sen before reducing losses. At 12.30pm, Icon settled at 78 sen with some 32 million shares done.

The second-largest decliner on the exchange was also the third-most active stock. For comparison, the FBM KLCI added 24.28 points or 1.41%.

An analyst from TA Securities Holdings Bhd told theedgemarkets.com the sharp drop in Icon's share price could be attributed to the expiry of the IPO lock-up or moratorium period.

“We believe the end of the moratorium period is most probably the main reason for the selldown,” the analyst said.

Icon was listed on Bursa Malaysia on June 25 this year. Its IPO involved the sale of 510.77 milion shares at RM1.85 each.  

Bloomberg data showed that Icon's moratorium period expired today. Icon’s largest shareholder is Hallmark Odyssey Sdn Bhd with a 42.28% stake followed by Lembaga Tabung Haji with 8.43%.

Icon shares had fallen to current levels from its intraday high at RM2.19 seen during its Bursa Malaysia debut on June 25 this year.