Friday 29 Mar 2024
By
main news image

This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 12, 2019 - August 18, 2019

Notable filings

BETWEEN July 29 and Aug 2, notable filings on shareholding changes in companies listed on Bursa Malaysia included that by Apex Equity Holdings Bhd, which saw an off-market deal involving 48.68 million shares, or a 24.02% stake, on July 26.

The transacted price was RM1.997 per share, valuing the entire deal at RM97.22 million.

According to bourse filings, the stake was transferred from the company’s largest shareholder, ACE Investment Bank Ltd, to ACE Credit (M) Sdn Bhd. A report by theedgemarkets.com said the transfer was to satisfy the bank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR).

It is worth noting that the transacted price was way above Apex Equity’s closing price of 89 sen on the day of transaction, having declined 55.5%. ACE Investment Bank’s cost of investment was about RM2 per share. The disposal to a related unit meant the paper loss would not weigh down ACE Investment Bank’s CAR.

Hextar Global Bhd saw its majority shareholder, Waras Dinamik Sdn Bhd, sell a block of 20 million shares, or a 2.44% stake, to Hextar Holdings Sdn Bhd on Aug 2. The owner of Hextar Holdings is Datuk Ong Choo Meng, who is Hextar Global’s executive director.

It is interesting to note that Waras Dinamik is the private investment vehicle of the Ong family, which Choo Meng leads. Post-transaction, Choo Meng is still deemed interested in both the stakes held by Waras Dinamik and Hextar Holdings — 72.85% in total.

However, Waras Dinamik is not deemed interested in Hextar Holdings’ stake. The sale leaves Waras Dinamik with 577.85 million shares, or a 70.41% stake, in Hextar Global. Waras Dinamik surfaced as a majority shareholder in Hextar Global — formerly known as Halex Holdings Bhd — last April after a cash plus shares deal to inject its chemicals business into the company.

Over at Grand-Flo Bhd, a mandatory takeover offer has been placed on the table after YBG Yap Consolidated Sdn Bhd bought 250.81 million shares, or a 53.32% stake, in the company off market on July 29 for RM65.2 million or 26 sen apiece.

YBG Yap Consolidated is controlled by Datuk Seri Yap Ngan Choy and his brother, Datuk Joe Yap Fook Choy, who heads property developer NCT Group. YBG Yap Consolidated intends to maintain the listing status of enterprise data manager Grand-Flo. The acquisition price on July 29 was at a 10.34% discount to the counter’s closing price of 29 sen on July 26. The stock fell to 27 sen on July 29.

 

Notable movements

On Aug 1 and 2, a total of 65.8 million Priceworth International Bhd shares were sold by substantial shareholder Maha Gayabina Sdn Bhd. After the disposal, Maha Gayabina is left with 297.59 million shares, or a 7.27% stake.

The sale came a month after the company announced a 12th supplementary letter inked on July 3 to accord more time for its proposed RM260 million acquisition of Rumpun Capaian Sdn Bhd, which controls a 100-year timber concession in Sabah called the Forest Management Unit 5.

The wood product manufacturer’s proposed acquisition was first announced in October 2016, with Maha Gayabina emerging as a shareholder with a 15.17% stake in May 2017 through a share subscription exercise. Shareholders had approved the proposed buy in May last year. Over the past year, the stock has seen a net retreat of 20% in value.

Despite surging 111% in the first seven weeks of this year, shares of WZ Satu Bhd have since retreated, marking a 43.24% fall in value over the past 12 months. It is noteworthy that executive chairman Datuk Seri Tengku Uzir Tengku Datuk Ubaidillah sold 1.52 million shares on July 29 and 31, reducing his stake to 21.1% or 98.13 million shares.

The sale bumped his total shares sold in July alone to 5.32 million. He still holds 98.13 million shares, or a 21.1% stake, in WZ Satu.

WZ Satu extended its dismal performance into a fifth straight quarter with a RM7.33 million loss in its third financial quarter ended May 31 (3QFY2019). Its nine-month cumulative loss widened to RM36.17 million from RM6.57 million a year ago while revenue fell 18.5% year on year to RM313.58 million in 9MFY2019.

 

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share