In the process, he ceased to be a substantial shareholder in the Practice Note 17 (PN17) status company after his stake dropped to 4.89%, below the 5% threshold for substantial shareholding status. At one point, he had an 8.25% stake in the company.
KNM’s bourse filing yesterday did not reveal the transaction’s value. However, based on the closing price of 8.5 sen last Friday, the disposal on the open market could have netted Heeschen up to RM5.23 million.
After emerging as a substantial shareholder in September last year, he and a group of disgruntled shareholders sought to nominate Johor princess Tunku Kamariah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Sultan Iskandar as chairman as part of a board takeover.
However, he was dealt a crippling blow after failing to oust nine board members including chairman Tunku Yaacob Khyra and CEO Ravindrasingham Balasingham at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Oct 16 last year.
Both Heeschen and Tunku Kamariah cried foul over the outcome, alleging possible “irregularities in the vote count”. However, the duo has not taken any legal action to challenge the results.
KNM, which was classified as a PN17 company in 2022, has been trying to pare down its debt of some RM1.1 billion by disposing of its crown jewel – German machinery and equipment company Borsig – and other foreign assets.
The group previously said Borsig is on track for an initial public offering (IPO) by the second half of 2024 on the Singapore Exchange.
It is seeking to raise some RM900 million from the IPO proceeds to reduce its debt whilst holding a stake of 40% after the flotation.
Yaacob, a member of the Negeri Sembilan royal family, is currently the largest shareholder with an 18.69% stake via his family’s vehicles.
KNM posted a net loss of RM80.13 million for the first quarter ended March 1, 2024 with revenue of RM216.4 million.
The loss was primarily due to finance costs for capital assets under construction, it said.
Its shares were unchanged at 7.5 sen at 4.15pm, valuing the group at RM303 million.