The two principal owners of Kencana Capital Sdn Bhd are splitting their business interests in the investment holding company as part of a large scale restructuring exercise, The Star reported Tuesday.
Part of the reshuffle involves the buyout of Yeow’s stake in Kencana Capital. In turn, he is acquiring Kencana’s stake in Yinson Holdings Bhd.
According to The Star, the swap essentially means that Mokhzani will end up as the sole owner of Kencana following the restructuring.
Yeow now holds 14 per cent of Yinson, a company that operates floating production, storage and offloading vessels catering to the oil and gas industry.
Mokhzani, in confirming the move, told The Star: “We are divvying up Kencana’s investments, as we have different priorities going forward.
“It is actually a plan that we had since 2012 but was put on hold after the economic slide.”
Stock exchange data Monday revealed that 119.71 million Yinson shares changed hands in an off-market transaction, representing a 10.95 per cent stake in the offshore services provider.
Bursa Malaysia filings by Yinson Monday revealed that Yeow had acquired this block as well as another 33 million shares in Yinson, which were distributed to him by Kencana Capital by way of a dividend in specie.
This, according to the report, gives Yeow a 14 per cent stake in Yinson, making him the second-largest shareholder in the company after Yinson’s founder and chairman, Lim Han Weng, who owns 21 per cent.
Yinson said Mokhzani and Kencana had ceased to be substantial shareholders in the company following the disposal of a total of 153.37 million shares.
Mokhzani and Yeow’s first major venture into the oil and gas sector was through Kencana Petroleum Bhd. In 2011, the company struck a notable merger with SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd in a massive RM12 billion deal, which was one of the largest in the history of corporate Malaysia, said The Star.
This resulted in the creation of integrated offshore services firm SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd, which was successfully listed on Bursa Malaysia in May 2012.
The report said that in July this year, Yeow, a former executive director of Kencana Petroleum, and two others were charged with insider trading in relation to the 2011 merger of Kencana Petroleum and SapuraCrest in 2011.