Notable filings
Among the notable shareholding changes between Aug 10 and 14 at companies listed on Bursa Malaysia was the cessation of two companies as major shareholders of Ge-Shen Corp Bhd (fundamental: 2.20; valuation: 1.10), which received a takeover offer from Pelita Niagamas Sdn Bhd at 81 sen per share.

Ge-Shen Resources Sdn Bhd and Netyan Group Corp disposed of 20 million and 9.5 million Ge-Shen Corp shares respectively at 81 sen apiece, a 1.2% discount to its 82 sen close on Aug 11.

Pelita Niagamas, controlled by Ge-Shen Corp executive director Chan Choong Kong and his spouse Chan Boon Hwee, raised its stake in the plastic mould product manufacturer to 52.66%. On the other hand, Wong Yee Keh, Han Hun Kwong and Teo Chin Swee, who are Ge-Shen Corp’s group managing director and executive directors respectively, saw their stakes decrease. Wong has an indirect 3.02% stake; Han holds a direct stake of 0.34% and an indirect stake of 3.02% while Teo holds a direct stake of 1.65% and an indirect stake of 3.02%.

Over at Metronic Global Bhd (fundamental: 1.25; valuation: 0.30), Tekad Mulia Sdn Bhd sold 18 million securities at 8 sen apiece and ceased to be a substantial shareholder. This was just over two months after it emerged as a substantial shareholder with a 5.01% stake in early June, which made the headlines because Tekad Mulia’s director, James Chan Yoke Peng, is understood to be a close associate of businessman Tan Sri Halim Saad.

Meanwhile, Master Knowledge Sdn Bhd bought 59.35 million of The Media Shoppe Bhd’s (TMS) shares off market, raising its stake to 21.22% on Aug 14. Stock market data shows 59.35 million shares were transacted in direct deals for RM8.79 million on Aug 14, of which 28.35 million shares changed hands at 13.5 sen each. The remaining 31 million shares were transacted at 16 sen apiece, a 14.3% to 18.5% premium to the market price of 13.5 sen to 14 sen each.

On the same day, Christopher Chan Hooi Guan resigned as CEO “to devote more time on the operations at the subsidiary level”. Chan, who is a co-founder of TMS (fundamental: 1.85; valuation: 0.90), several days earlier ceased to be TMS’ substantial shareholder after selling his stake in Master Knowledge.

Notable movements
ACE Market-listed VSolar Group Bhd (fundamental: 1.65; valuation: 0.30) announced four amended shareholding change forms on Aug 14 that showed changes for Citigroup Nominees (Asing) Sdn Bhd for UBS AG for Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte Ltd.

The fund emerged as a substantial shareholder with a 5.27% stake after buying 2.6 million of VSolar’s shares on the open market on Feb 16. The shares closed at 17 sen on Feb 16,  after which they surged 123.5% to 38 sen on April 22. However, they tumbled 72.4% to close at 10.5 sen on Aug 12. On that day, the fund ceased to be a substantial shareholder after disposing of 5.99 million shares in the renewable energy company. It had raised its stake to 5.93%, or 17.99 million shares, after buying 1.1 million shares on Feb 26 and another 890,000 from April 17 to 23. The fund sold one million shares on May 7, cutting its holdings to 5.6% or 16.99 million shares. Further disposals cut its holdings to below 5% on Aug 12.

Closing at RM1.54 last Wednesday, shares of PJ Development Holdings Bhd (PJD) were up about 10.55% year to date. On Aug 7, it was picked as a stock with momentum by theedgemarkets.com.

The share price is just 1.28% below the takeover offer of RM1.56 apiece offered by OSK Holdings Bhd, which is controlled by Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat and his wife Puan Sri Khor Chai Moi. The conditional mandatory general offer expires on Sept 1, unless extended. On Aug 18, the couple’s indirect holding in PJD (fundamental: 1.90; valuation: 3) rose to 40.82% after OSK Holdings bought 400,000 shares at RM1.55 apiece on the open market.

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. Visit www.theedgemarkets.com for more details on a company’s financial dashboard.

This article first appeared in Capital, digitaledge Weekly, on August 24 - 30, 2015.