Monday, May 06, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR: Former investment banker Siva Kumar Jeyapalan appears to have gained control of Masterskill Education Group Bhd (MEGB), just months after demanding that the company’s board of directors bucks up.

Last Friday, MEGB informed Bursa Malaysia that Siva Kumar bought 72 million MEGB shares at 40 sen apiece in two off-market deals.

The 72 million shares, valued at about RM28.8 million, roughly account for 17.5 per cent of the company’s paid-up capital spread.

The seller of the shares was Datin Sri Carline Johnson D’Cruz, wife of Datuk Edmund Santhara Kumar, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of MEGB.

With the sale, Edmund Santhara is left with only a 6.5 per cent indirect stake in MEGB. He does not have any direct stake in the company.

The writing was on the wall that Edmund Santhara’s days of helming MEGB was on its last leg after he quitted as its CEO in mid-April.

His role in the MEGB board was changed to that of non-executive director.

Siva Kumar’s latest purchase boosted his stake in the education company to 29.76 per cent, some 3.24 per cent short of triggering a mandatory general offer.

The second largest shareholder in MEGB now is Crescent Point Investment Holdings Ltd with a 21.52 per cent stake.

Unlike Edmund Santhara, Siva Kumar is a low-profile personality.

There is not much public literature on the man, although checks on Bursa Malaysia’s website show that Siva Kumar is a very active participant in the Malaysian stock market.

He is listed by Hong Leong Capital Bhd in its 2012 annual report as its second largest stakeholder after Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan.

Siva Kumar is also the second largest shareholder in Penang-based SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd after Singapore’s Temasek.

Bursa Malaysia filings showed that at one point or another, Siva Kumar was in the top 30 shareholders list in as many as 10 other public-listed companies.

As one of the co-founders of MEGB, he reemerged in the company last October after acquiring a 10.05 per cent stake.

In December last year, Siva Kumar had reportedly stated that he was unhappy with MEGB’s results and that the board should buck up.

The education provider suffered a loss of RM28.3 million in 2012 versus a profit of RM45.3 million the previous year due to lower student enrolments.

MEGB is one of the heavyweight education groups that relies heavily on nursing-related enrolments.

It was listed on Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market in 2010 and at the time of the listing, the nursing programme accounted for nearly 30 per cent of its revenue.

Edmund Santhara joined the MEGB nucleus some five years before the listing, which was one of the country’s top initial public offerings (IPO) in 2010 that raised more than RM770 million.

The businessman was largely credited for his almost perfect timing of the IPO, which saw investors forking out RM3.80 per MEGB share. MEGB was last traded at 55 sen each.

By Francis Fernandez