This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on February 29 - March 6, 2016.
Notable filings
NOTABLE shareholding changes between Feb 15 and 19 in companies listed on Bursa Malaysia included that at Berjaya Auto Bhd, which assembles and distributes Mazda vehicles in Malaysia.
A Feb 15 filing shows AmanahRaya Trustees Bhd-Amanah Saham Bumiputera emerging as a substantial shareholder on Feb 11 after acquiring 57.5 million shares or a 5.03% stake in Berjaya Auto. AmanahRaya Trustees, a subsidiary of Amanah Raya Bhd, is a corporate trusteeship service provider. Neither the transaction price nor the seller was disclosed.
Prominent businessman Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun’s Berjaya Corp Bhd is the single largest shareholder of Berjaya Auto, with a 33.36% stake. Berjaya Auto CEO Datuk Seri Ben Yeoh Choon San has a 6.52% stake in the company while the Employees Provident Fund holds 6.46%.
Over at A-Rank Bhd, Datuk Leow Chong Howa replaced Tan Wan Lay as the single largest shareholder after he bought 31.79 million shares or a 26.49% stake off market from the latter on Feb 16. The single direct deal at RM19.07 million or 60 sen a share was a 1.6% discount to the
61 sen apiece the shares fetched on the open market that day. Leow, who purchased the shares via British Virgin Islands-incorporated City Data Ltd and is the executive chairman of LB Aluminium Bhd, owns 33.2 million shares or 27.7% equity interest in A-Rank.
Considering that LB Aluminium is the largest supplier of aluminium extrusion in Malaysia while A-Rank is the largest manufacturer and supplier of aluminium billets in the country, it will be interesting to see how Leow plans to extract synergies from both companies. At press time, Tan remains the managing director of A-Rank and has a 5% stake in the company, held through A-Rank Group Sdn Bhd.
Meanwhile, a Feb 19 filing shows Generasi Setia (M) Sdn Bhd has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of property and infrastructure group Gamuda Bhd after disposing of five million shares or a 0.2% stake on Feb 18. The transaction price was not revealed but Gamuda closed at RM4.55 that day. Generasi Setia is owned by Raja Datuk Seri Eleena Sultan Azlan Shah, the sister of the Sultan of Perak.
Notable movements
The share price of Penang-based poultry farmer CAB Cakaran Corp Bhd has advanced by 12.7% to RM1.77 year to date, giving it a market capitalisation of RM271 million. The stock has more than doubled from its 52-week low of 88 sen on Aug 26 last year, reaching an all-time high of RM1.87 on Feb 18.
British Virgin Islands-incorporated Plant Wealth Holdings Ltd bought some 4.4 million shares from Feb 11 to 19, raising its stake in CAB Cakaran to 12.38%. This excludes the agreement Plant Wealth entered into with CAB Cakaran on Jan 18 for a proposed private placement of 9.1% equity interest or 15.06 million shares at RM2.07 per placement share or RM31.17 million in total. Plant Wealth is controlled by KMP Investments Pte Ltd, which in turn is 67%-owned by Indonesian tycoon Anthoni Salim, who is the chairman of Salim Group.
Meanwhile, GD Express Carrier Bhd (GDex) saw its share price more than double from its 52-week low of 82 sen on Aug 25 last year. It closed at RM1.66 last Wednesday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.29 billion.
On Feb 12, Japan’s Yamato Asia Pte Ltd raised its holding in GDex to 315.98 million shares or a 22.85% stake after buying 53.67 million shares from GDex group CEO and largest shareholder Teong Teck Lean. Teong still has a 36.1% stake in the company after the deal.
Yamato also bought 137.4 million shares or 9.97% equity interest in GDex from Singapore Post Ltd on Feb 12 at RM1.74 apiece, a 4.2% premium to the market price of RM1.67 that day. The Japanese company also paid RM1.74 apiece when subscribing for a private placement on Jan 29. Yamato is currently GDex’s second largest shareholder, with Singapore Post’s stake reduced to 11.2%.
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