KUALA LUMPUR: Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd’s managing director Datuk Zainol Izzet Mohamed Ishak, has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of the company after the forced selling of 36.526 million shares.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Monday, the upstream oil and gas provider said Zainol Izzet’s shareholding had fallen from 5.4% to 2.34% following the disposal of his 36.526 million 10-sen shares via the open market.
“The sales of shares are pursuant to financing arrangement that Datuk Zainol Izzet Mohamed Ishak is a party to and is not a voluntary sale on his part,” Perisai said.
The disposals, carried out on Wednesday and Thursday last week, were made at prices ranging from 7.8 sen to 9.2 sen per share. The shares were sold for RM3.121mil in total.
Perisai shares have sunk to an all-time low, closing at 7.5 sen on Monday, down half a sen from Friday with 26.184 million shares changing hands.
For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2015, the Perisai group posted a loss before tax of RM688.15mil compared with a pre-tax profit of RM27.87mil in the preceding year. The loss attributable to shareholders was RM706.32mil.
Perisai attributed the loss mainly to a total provision for impairment on plant and equipment and prepayments for jack-up drilling rigs under construction amounting to RM725.74mil,
For the first half of this year, the company continued to be in the red with loss attributable to shareholders of RM6.73mil.
Perisai recently defaulted on its debt repayment after its unit Perisai Capital (L) Inc, which issued S$125mil (RM377.27mil) 6.875% medium-term notes due on Oct 3, 2016, failed to get the noteholders’ approval during a meeting to, among others, defer the payment of interest due on the date and to postpone the maturity date to Feb 3, 2017.
However, the company said that it and Emas Offshore Ltd (EOL), its joint-venture partner in Emas Victoria (L) Bhd and SJR Marine (L) Ltd, had on Sept 30 received an indicative offer of financing from a financial institution.
“Part of the amount from the indicative offer would be earmarked towards a mutually acceptable resolution with the company’s noteholders with regards the notes through the availability to the Perisai Group of a sum of approximately US$20mil (RM82.98mil),” Perisai said on Oct 3.
“It is on this basis that the company intends to engage with the Noteholders on an alternative proposal.”
EOL owns an 11.83% direct stake in Perisai. In turn, Perisai has the choice to exercise its put option to sell its 51% stake in SJR to EOL for US$43mil.
EOL’s ultimate shareholder is Singapore Exchange-listed Ezra Holdings Ltd, which holds a 22.5% stake in Perisai.
Perisai, in a separate statement to Bursa Malaysia on Monday, said it had on the same day received a notice from the trustee of the S$125mil notes that said an event of default for payment of principal and interest of the notes had occurred.
“The trustee further notified that it does not intend to take any further action to declare the notes to be due and repayable unless directed by noteholders in accordance with the trust deed and provided with satisfactory indemnification and/or security and/or prefunded against any liability they may incur, as provided for in the terms of the notes and trust deed,” it said.
Perisai said Perisai Capital planned to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the noteholders based on the availability of the indicative financing.
“It is expected that this resolution would include a restructure of the due date of the principal and interest of the notes, thereby rendering Perisai Capital back to solvency,” it added.
Zainol Izzet joined Perisai’s board on April 13, 2010, and was appointed managing director a week later. He had previously been SapuraCrest Petroleum chief executive officer (retired on Jan 31, 2010).
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