KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 24): East Navigators Capital Ltd is no longer a substantial shareholder in Pharmaniaga Bhd (KL:PHARMA) after disposing of a 1.76% stake in the PN17-status pharmaceutical firm for RM5.32 million.
According to a bourse filing, East Navigators Capital sold the stake, comprising 25.35 million shares, on Tuesday. However, the identity of the buyer was not disclosed.
A check with Bloomberg showed that the shares were traded in a single block on Tuesday at 21 sen per share, amounting to RM5.32 million in total. At 21 sen, the transaction was at a discount of 41.7% or 15 sen to Pharmaniaga's last closing price of 36 sen.
East Navigators Capital had initially become a substantial shareholder in Pharmaniaga in July 2023 by subscribing to 85.7 million shares through a private placement. At the time, Pharmaniaga set the private placement price at 35 sen apiece.
With the sale, East Navigators Capital's stake in Pharmaniaga stands at 4.19% — below the 5% threshold required for the substantial shareholding status.
However, as of the time of writing, Pharmaniaga has yet to disclose the cessation of East Navigators Capital’s substantial shareholder status.
With East Navigators Capital ceasing to be a substantial shareholder, Pharmaniaga’s two remaining substantial shareholders are Boustead Holdings Bhd, with a 47.12% stake, and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), with 7.84%.
Last month, Pharmaniaga received approval from Bursa Malaysia for its regularisation plan, which includes a RM520 million capital reduction, a RM353.52 million rights issue (excluding warrants), and a RM300 million private placement.
The share capital reduction was upsized from the RM180 million initially planned. A proposal to sweeten the rights issue with free warrants was also axed.
The drugmaker fell into PN17 status in February last year amid massive impairment after being unable to sell RM552.3 million worth of Covid-19 vaccines.
For the nine months ended Sept 30, 2024, Pharmaniaga posted a net profit of RM129.48 million on revenue of RM2.83 billion.
Pharmaniaga’s shares closed half a sen higher at 36 sen on Tuesday, valuing the company at RM518.8 million.