KUALA LUMPUR (April 22): The High Court has postponed the Sapura Holdings Sdn Bhd winding-up petition, involving feuding brothers Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin and Datuk Shahriman Shamsudin, to Wednesday at 9am, as both sides are negotiating a settlement.
Judge Leong Wai Hong granted the adjournment at the request of Gopal Sreenevasan, a lawyer for petitioner Shahriman, who said discussions began earlier on Tuesday, and more time was needed. It was unclear which party started the settlement talks.
"The counsel has requested an adjournment of the case to spare parties from the stress of cross-examination. I will accede to the counsel's request today to adjourn this matter, so that hopefully it can be settled without cross-examination," Leong said during court proceedings.
The judge however stressed that the case is a simple legal matter with clear laws, and warned that no more delays would be allowed if both sides couldn’t reach a settlement.
The adjournment comes as Tan Sri Shamsuddin Abdul Kadir, the founder of Sapura Holdings and father of the two brothers in dispute, was scheduled for cross-examination on Tuesday. In his affidavit, seemingly in support of Shahriman, he stated that he founded Sapura Holdings as a family company to be equally run by both sons.
Shahriman filed a petition on Sept 23, 2024, to wind up Sapura Holdings believing it is needed for a fair asset distribution. Shahril, however, opposed this, claiming it is not a family company.
Shahril and minority shareholder Datuk Rameli Musa both stated in separate affidavits that Sapura Holdings is not a family company. Sapura Holdings is the third respondent in the case.
Shahril and Shahriman are equal shareholders of Sapura Holdings, with a 40.5% stake each, while their equally owned vehicle Brothers Capital Sdn Bhd has a 15% stake. Rameli owns a 4% interest in the company.
Sapura Holdings holds major stakes in companies like Sapura Resources Bhd (KL:SAPRES) (51.1%) and Sapura Energy Bhd (KL:SAPNRG) (11%), along with other ventures in rail operations and luxury watches. The main dispute is over the fair division of assets, particularly the jointly owned Permata Sapura office project with KLCC Holdings, which is said to have triggered the dispute between the two brothers.
Shahril was represented by Rabindra S Nathan from Shearn Delamore, while Idza Hajar Ahmad Idzam from Zul Rafique & Partners represented Sapura Holdings. Rameli was represented by Ranjit Singh of Ranjit Singh & Yeoh.