KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): Kretam Holdings Bhd has raised its stake in Bahvest Resources Bhd to 12.22% or 151.49 million shares, after a series of transactions on Bursa Malaysia.
In its bourse filing, Kretam said its fully owned subsidiary Innosabah Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd acquired 12.95% or 160.58 million shares in the Sabah gold miner (Bahvest) from the open market for RM43.73 million shares, or an average of 28.87 sen per share, between Nov 29, 2022 to Oct 2, 2023.
Meanwhile, the oil palm plantations owner (Kretam) sold 9.09 million shares or a 0.73% stake in Bahvest between May 8 to 16, 2023, in four tranches, at an average price of 14.6 sen apiece or RM1.32 million.
The series of acquisitions and disposals of Bahvest shares resulted in the current 12.22% stake.
Kretam said it wanted to expand its operations through diversification.
“One promising avenue for diversification is the acquisition of Bahvest, a gold mining company situated in Sabah that currently extracts gold ore from its Bukit Mantri mine.
“This acquisition is viewed favourably by the board, as it aligns with Kretam’s diversification strategy,” Kretam said.
The exercise is funded from Innosabah’s internal funds and proceeds having been reinvested into the acquisitions.
“The transactions have no effect on the issued share capital or substantial shareholders’ shareholdings of Kretam, and are not expected to have any material effect on the net assets, earnings and gearing of the Kretam group for the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2023,” it said.
Innosabah first emerged as a substantial shareholder in Bahvest on May 30, after acquiring 1,000 shares via the open market, and increased its stake to 73.44 million shares or 5.92%.
Kretam also noted that its substantial shareholder Datuk Lim Nyuk Sang @ Freddy Lim is also a shareholder in Bahvest.
According to Bloomberg data, Lim is the largest shareholder in Kretam with 1.09 billion shares or 66.13%, as of July 2023. Lim also held 44.25 million Bahvest shares, representing a 3.57% stake.
Lim was among a group of shareholders who had sought to requisition an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to remove three board members from Bahvest, namely the group’s founder and former managing director-cum-chief executive officer Datuk Lo Fui Ming, Fui Ming’s son, who is executive director Lo Tek Yong; and non-executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Md Kamal Bilal.
The trio resigned ahead of the Bahvest’s EGM on June 13, and after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) conducted a raid at Bahvest’s operation centre in Tawau.
Bahvest’s unit Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd had lodged a police report in July, to investigate a possible fraud in a letter of demand issued by its mining lease land owner Southsea Gold Sdn Bhd, which sought RM20.4 million for the alleged wrongful occupation and trespass by Wullersdorf Resources into the leased land in Tawau.
Wullersdorf Resources also asked for an investigation to be carried out into a subsequent payment of RM6 million to Southsea Gold, which is controlled by Fui Ming.
At the market close on Tuesday, Kretam’s shares were unchanged at 58.5 sen, valuing the group at RM1.37 billion.
Bahvest shares closed lower by one sen or 2.99% to 32.5 sen. Its market capitalisation stood at RM396.21 million.