This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on January 18- January 24, 2015.

In the week of Jan 7 to 12, a total of 440.19 million shares worth RM932.91 million changed hands off market in blocks of at least 450,000 shares.

End-to-end banking solutions provider Microlink Solutions Bhd saw 15 million shares, or a 9.86% stake, swap in direct trades worth RM19.86 million on Jan 11 and Jan 12.

Some 13 million shares changed hands at RM1.30 apiece on Jan 11, a 16.9% to 29.2% discount to the RM1.52 to RM1.68 apiece they fetched on the open market. Similarly, the two million shares that crossed in a direct deal at RM1.48 apiece were transacted 10.1% to 15.5% below the RM1.63 to RM1.71 apiece they fetched on the open market.

The buyers and sellers were unknown at the time of writing. A Dec 21 filing with Bursa Malaysia showed that its single largest shareholder, Omesti Holdings Bhd, sold three million shares at RM1.20 apiece between Dec 16 and Dec 18, paring down its holdings to 71.28%. Omesti, formerly known as Formis Holdings Bhd, had its stake bumped up to 76.54% after Microlink’s dividend in specie. On Jan 5, Microlink said its 26.87% public shareholding spread as at Dec 31, 2015, met requirements.

The company returned to the black in the quarter ended Sept 30, 2015, booking a RM419,000 net profit compared to a RM3.86 million net loss a year ago. Revenue surged to RM69.56 million from RM6.46 million previously. The company attributed the higher revenue and turnaround in earnings to its newly acquired subsidiary.

Magni-Tech Industries Bhd, meanwhile, saw 12.61 million shares or a 7.75% stake change hands in direct deals for RM52.1 million in total. Of these, 12.11 million shares changed hands on Jan 11 at RM4.13 apiece, a discount of 8.2% to the stock’s closing price of RM4.50 on that day.

Filings show that Tan Sri Vincent Tan sold 12.11 million shares or a 7.44% stake on Jan 11. A subsequent filing showed Perbadanan Nasional Bhd emerging as a substantial shareholder in Magni-Tech after acquiring 12.11 million shares on the same day.

Magni-Tech is primarily involved in the manufacturing and sale of garments, corrugated fibre cartons, boxes, packaging products and flexible plastic packaging materials for industrial and commercial use. Its net profit for the second quarter ended Oct 31, 2015, more than doubled to RM21.63 million from RM8 million a year ago, even as revenue gained 21.8% to RM197.34 million.

Over at Nylex (Malaysia) Bhd, 12 million shares or a 6.24% stake changed hands in a direct trade at 55 sen apiece or RM6.6 million in total on Jan 12. The transacted price was 3.5% below the 57 sen apiece the stock fetched on the open market, where only 6,900 shares changed hands on the same day.

On Jan 13, Nylex announced that the Jan 12 transaction was between Rhodemark Development Sdn Bhd and its holding company Ancom Bhd. Nylex’s managing director and largest shareholder Datuk Siew Ka Wei has substantial interest in both. Siew, who held 47.9% of Nylex, is also Ancom’s managing director.

For its first quarter ended Aug 31, 2015, Nylex’s net profit fell over 40% to RM1.71 million from RM2.93 million. Revenue declined 10% to RM322.82 million from RM358.83 million a year ago.

The week in review also saw 10.5 million shares, equivalent to 2.45% of Borneo Aqua Harvest Bhd, crossing off market in several direct deals for between RM1.05 and RM1.16 apiece between Jan 6 and Jan 11.

The eight million shares that crossed at RM1.165 apiece on Jan 11 are likely to have been bought by Lembaga Tabung Haji, which filings show bought eight million shares on the same day. Lembaga Tabung Haji re-emerged as a substantial shareholder after buying 105,000 shares on Jan 6, shortly after it ceased as a substantial shareholder on Dec 29, 2015, after selling 21 million shares or a 4.9% stake. Last November, Borneo Aqua announced plans to diversify into the mining business, with the proposed acquisition of the entire equity stake in Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd for RM131 million.

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