KUALA LUMPUR (March 9): Former finance minister II Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani has emerged as a substantial shareholder in Media Prima Bhd after buying 109.7 million shares in the open market today through his private investment vehicle, JAG Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd, as the share price of the group tumbled by 10%.

According to an exchange filing today, Johari now has a direct 4.96% or 55 million shares, and indirect 4.93% or 54.7 million shares in Media Prima following a series of acquisitions.

Johari is a director of JAG Capital and CI Holdings Bhd. He is also the chairman and largest shareholder of KUB Malaysia Bhd.

As it stands, Bloomberg data reveals that Aurora Mulia Sdn Bhd, a vehicle related to billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, is still the largest shareholder of Media Prima with a holding of 31.9% or 353.82 million shares.

Meanwhile, investment bank and financial services company Morgan Stanley is the second largest shareholder with 12.83% or 142.34 million shares.

Recently, Media Prima returned to the black with a net profit of RM18.84 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (4QFY20), from a net loss of RM104.46 million a year ago, underpinned by lower operating expenses achieved through its cost optimisation initiatives.

For the full FY20, the group's net loss narrowed 90% year-on-year to RM18.38 million from RM177.85 million, driven by the group's transformation exercise, which contributed to lower operating expenses in FY20.

Shares of Media Prima ended seven sen or 10.07% lower to 62 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM693 million. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has risen by 119%.