High Court dismisses Bursa’s case against MAA in KNM asset sale row

Monday 21 Sep 2026

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KUALA LUMPUR (May 15): The High Court has dismissed Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd’s bid to hold MAA Group Bhd (KL:MAA), as a shareholder, accountable for bypassing listing rules when pushing through shareholder approval for the sale of the now-delisted KNM Group Bhd’s German assets.

In a statement on Friday, MAA said the court did not agree that the company should automatically be subject to the full obligations of a listed issuer simply because it called the EGM for shareholders of KNM under the Companies Act 2016.

MAA said the court further noted that any procedural defect, if present, was curable and that there was no sufficient evidence of substantial injustice. The full grounds of judgment will be provided by the court in due course.

The suit, heard on May 14, 2026, is linked to a dispute over an EGM initiated by KNM’s largest shareholder MAA for the proposed disposal of Deutsche KNM GmbH (DKNM), despite Bursa’s objections. Bursa named MAA as the first defendant, CIMSEC Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd as the second defendant, along with KNM and KNM Process Systems Sdn Bhd.

The action was taken to stop the EGM on the proposed sale of DKNM until the Main Market Listing Requirements had been fully met. The case was filed on Oct 28, 2025 ahead of the Oct 30, 2025 EGM.

MAA, led by Tunku Datuk Yaacob Khyra, holds a 19.37% stake in KNM.

According to MAA’s filing earlier in the day, the High Court dismissed the suit and made no order as to costs. Bursa may still appeal the decision at the Court of Appeal within 30 days from May 14, 2026, up to June 12, 2026.

The news comes after KNM filed a lawsuit against Japan’s NGK Insulators after the collapse of the €270 million (about RM1.26 billion) deal to acquire DKNM, which KNM had rushed to complete.

KNM claims the deal failed after NGK Insulators introduced last-minute requirements, including additional financial forecasts for FY2026 and FY2028, which allegedly delayed and derailed the transaction.

The company is seeking damages including RM363 million for loss of market value after delisting, €46.5 million for bank exposures in Germany and RM42.69 million in costs.

KNM said it had already taken steps to complete the deal, including withdrawing its appeal and proceeding with delisting on Nov 5, 2025.

Acquired in 2008 for €350 million, KNM Group has struggled to sell its German asset, Borsig, since 2022, when KNM was classified as a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company.

KNM’s latest attempt to sell it to NGK Insulators was part of its plan to exit its PN17 status and strengthen its finances. The deal was expected to cut about RM1.3 billion in debt and provide around RM100 million in working capital.

However, Bursa rejected KNM’s restructuring plan on Oct 3, 2025, saying the company failed to show it could grow and sustain its business, and that its plan did not fully address the issues behind its financial problems.

KNM filed an appeal but later withdrew this, as it proceeded with delisting on Nov 5, 2025 after Bursa warned MAA on Oct 23, 2025 not hold a vote on the proposed sale of DKNM without adhering to listing rules. At the time, KNM said its action was to avoid delaying the asset sale, which was to be completed by Nov 26, 2026.

MAA called for the EGM under the Companies Act after KNM rejected its request to convene an EGM to approve the sale of DKNM, saying it must strictly comply with PN17 and Bursa’s listing rules.

Faced with court action, KNM adjourned the meeting to vote on selling its German unit to Nov 6, 2025 — a day after it was delisted.

Edited ByPresenna Nambiar

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