No need G O, but what about ‘Insider Trading’?

Securities Commission today announced that Sime Darby Bhd need not to make a General Offer (GO) to the remaining shareholders after its 30% acquisition of E&O last month. It is below the 33% holding, where mandatory GO has to be made.

What intrigues many in this case is that, how about ‘Insider Trading’?

Is SC making any investigations on this?

The deal is so dodgy. E&O Chairman Dato’ Azizan Abdul Rahman has been buying shares during several stages of negotiations, not only with Sime Darby but with other parties also. Azizan also is a good friend of Kalimullah “Riong Kali” Hassan and they have served together in the same board in another plc once.

Riong Kali’s game in this is another story. First, he is believed to have tried to use his relationship with DAP controlled Penang via Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to ask Singapore’s Temasek to ‘pressure’ the shareholders to sell their holdings in E&O to a ‘DAP friendly’ party like ECM Libra. Hence, the dinner in Singapore on 12 August which was part of Lim’s itinerary to Singapore. Of course, Riong Kali denied.

Then again, Riong Kali did lie once.

Then they increased holdings of E&O and failed attempt to get two of their own into the board of the acquired company. Needless to say that the four lawyers they ‘sent’ to the ‘orchestrated AGM’were designed to either do a ‘corporate coup d’etat or if they fail, then do a mess of teh whole statutory process.

What should be interesting is their next move. Riong Kali maximised his connections within the media to ‘pressure’ for the GO. Now with 6.5% holding and no board member, what will be next. They have lost their chance of aggregating RM 155 million from this GO move.

A lot at stake here. This acquisition already created doubts of the state of corporate governance and those who are supposed to regulate the industry. This is a test case whether SC Chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar would demonstrate her professionalism and allow for an impartial investigation of an insider trading in this acquisition, where her husband Azizan sits as the Chairman of E&O. Azizan’s role in the whole acquisition episode also is a good story on its own.

In the past, there has been hanky panky when this is about the duo. Even it was raised in Parliament. Still no anwers. This must not be good for Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak’s administration, policies, approaches and even attitude. The SC as the regulator by statute is under very close watch here in this episode.

We would be glad to take up bets for this one.

- bigdogdotcom