KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): SC Estate Builder Bhd (KL:SCBUILD) on Friday announced the emergence of Fortune Frontline Sdn Bhd as its second-largest shareholder, following the subscription of one billion shares via a private placement.

According to the group’s filing with Bursa Malaysia, the shares were subscribed on Oct 1 through a pledged securities account under City Exotic Sdn Bhd, giving Fortune Frontline an 18.8% stake in the construction outfit.

Vantage Matrix Sdn Bhd, the vehicle of Lee Ghee Ming and Tan Chai Leng, is the group's largest shareholder.

A separate filing with Bursa revealed that SC Estate Builder chairman and managing director/ CEO Loh Boon Ginn’s stake has been diluted to 232.01 million shares, or 4.36%, as a result of the enlarged share base from the placement exercise.

The changes come on the back of SC Estate Builder’s 30% private placement completed last month, which saw the issuance of up to 1.23 billion new shares at 4.3 sen each.

Based on the group’s earlier filing in February, the private placement would dilute Vantage Matrix’s stake from 24.76% to 19.05%, while SC Estate World Sdn Bhd’s holding will fall from 14.66% to 11.28%.

In September, SC Estate Builder signed a joint-venture agreement with Vanguard North Sdn Bhd to develop four parcels of land in Kedah into a building project with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM663.36 million.

As at end-July, the group held RM938,000 in cash and bank balances, with no borrowings. It also recorded accumulated losses of RM15.81 million and trade receivables of RM23.79 million.

For the 18-month financial period ended July 31, SC Estate Builder posted a net profit of RM3.08 million on revenue of RM24.79 million. The group has changed its financial year-end from Jan 31 to July 31.

Shares of SC Estate Builder closed unchanged at one sen on Friday, valuing the group at RM40.92 million.