PETALING JAYA: Oil and gas services provider KNM Group Bhd will convene an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Oct 16 to vote on resolutions to remove its board of directors including chairman Tunku Yaacob Khyra and CEO Ravindrasingham Balasingham.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the Practice Note 17 (PN17) company confirmed the EGM will be conducted fully virtual through live streaming and online voting using remote participation and electronic voting (RPEV) facilities on Monday, Oct 16 at 10am.
German billionaire Andreas Heeschen and eight other shareholders holding 10.68% of the company’s shares had on Sept 4 requisitioned for an EGM to consider resolutions removing the entire nine-member board.
A bourse filing dated Aug 31 revealed that Heeschen has a deemed interest of 7.91% or 320 million shares in KNM, an integrated solutions provider for the oil and gas, power and renewable energy industries.
In addition to the resolutions seeking the ouster of the current board, another set of resolutions proposed a slate of new directors.
These include Heeschen to replace former chairman Zulhasnan Rafique, and Johor princess Tunku Kamariah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Sultan Iskandar to replace Tunku Yaacob, a member of the Negri Sembilan royal family and the single largest shareholder with a 9.44% stake.
The requisitioners are also proposing Edwin Silvester Das to take the place of Ravindrasingham. The other directors slated for removal are Yee Hong Ho, Steve Ho Soo Woon, Thulasy Suppiah, Uwe Ahrens, James Beltran, and Indera Naresh Mohan.
The EGM to remove the board is seen as the opening shot by Heeschen and the parties acting in concert to take over the financially distressed which has external debt to the tune of RM1.17 billion.
Ravindrasingham has recently questioned whether Heeschen’s plan to take over KNM is a “cheaper way” to acquire the group’s crown jewels, Borsig Group and FBM Group, which have a considerably higher value than their parent company.
He said Borsig, a 100%-owned machinery and equipment company, has a market valuation in excess of €300 million (RM1.5 billion). In contrast, KNM’s current market capitalisation of RM425 million is considerably lower than that of the two companies combined.
KNM announced recently the sale of Italy-based FBM Hudson Group for €22 million (RM110 million).
Ravindrasingham also revealed Heeschen has twice sought to acquire Borsig, the last attempt being in early 2022 which “never got concluded”. The current takeover bid will be Heeschen’s third attempt to snag Borsig, albeit via a different approach.
The board is opting for an initial public offering (IPO) for Borsig on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) by the second half of 2024, and is hoping to generate proceeds of about RM900 million. He added the group plans to hold 40% of Borsig post-IPO.
KNM’s shares closed half-a-sen or 4.55% lower at 10 sen, valuing the group at RM424.8 million. - FMT
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