KUALA LUMPUR (April 19): M&A Equity Holdings Bhd announced that an individual by the name of Siti Nur Aishah Ishak has become a substantial shareholder of the stockbroking firm, after acquiring a 0.13% stake in the company.

According to a bourse filing on Friday, Siti Nur Aishah acquired 3.6 million shares in the open market on April 17, raising her total stake in the company to 5.17%.

Back-of-the-envelope calculations show that the acquisition could have cost Siti Nur Aishah some RM1.3 million, based on M&A’s closing price of 36 sen on April 17.

Siti Nur Aishah had actively traded millions of M&A Equity shares in the open market over the past five months.

She first emerged as the company’s substantial shareholder in December 2023, after acquiring a 5.06% stake. By January 2024, she had increased her stake to 6.39%, after acquiring more shares in the open market.

However, on Feb 6, she ceased to be a substantial shareholder by selling 35 million shares for RM12.6 million via direct business transaction, reducing her stake to 4.57%.

She later re-emerged as a substantial shareholder on March 21, after acquiring two million shares in the open market, upping her stake to 5.09%. But the shares were quickly divested after a few weeks of acquiring them.

On April 3, she divested these shares in the open market, bringing her stake down to 4.98%.

The largest shareholder in M&A Equity is Datuk Seri Thong Kok Khee, who controls a 55.82% stake via Insas Bhd.

Shares of M&A Equity ended half a sen or 1.37% lower at 36 sen on Friday, valuing the company at RM670.5 million.