KUALA LUMPUR (March 12): PeterLabs Holdings Bhd’s (KL:PLABS) former executive director Datuk Loh Saw Foong and his wife Datin Lin Ching Yein have ceased to be substantial shareholders in the company.
Loh and Lin disposed of separate 16.315 million share blocks in the company, or 32.63 million shares in total, equivalent to an 11.86% stake, via a direct business transaction on March 11, according to bourse filings on Thursday.
After the disposals, Loh is left with a 1.1% stake, while Lin holds no equity interest in PeterLabs.
A separate bourse filing showed that Leong Kok Hou acquired 32.63 million shares via a direct business transaction on the same day. Leong is now a substantial shareholder with an 11.86% stake.
The price at which the shares were transacted was not disclosed in the filings. However, Bloomberg’s off-market data indicated the block was traded at 21 sen apiece — a 22% discount to March 11’s closing price of 27 sen.
PeterLabs, Loh and Lin entered into a settlement agreement in October last year to end a dispute connected to the company as well as its units PeterLabs Sdn Bhd and 60%-owned Thye On Tong Trading Sdn Bhd (TOTT).
Part of the settlement agreement included Loh and Lin’s repurchase of the 60% stake in TOTT at a price not exceeding the price at which it was sold to the company in 2022. The pair had sold TOTT to PeterLabs for RM10.8 million in a cash and share deal.
The proposed resolution on the stake’s disposal to Loh and Lin is to be voted on by non-interested shareholders in an extraordinary general meeting on April 13.
The dispute between the company and the pair began in May last year, stemming from an internal probe into Loh’s unspecified alleged misconduct. Loh was suspended pending the probe, which was lifted a month later.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission was also involved as it raided both the offices of PeterLabs and TOTT, of which Loh was a general manager, after a report was lodged by the company over the allegations involving Loh.
Shares in PeterLabs were untraded on Thursday. They last traded on March 11 at 27 sen, valuing the company at RM72.93 million.