Quick take: DNeX rises 9%, most heavily traded

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in Dagang Nexchange Bhd (DNeX) were actively traded in early trade Monday with some 56 million shares done, making it the most active counter on Bursa Malaysia.

The counter added 9.62%, or 2.5 sen to 28.5 sen. DNeX-WD rose 22.22%, or one sen to 5.5 sen.

DNeX said it will pay RM314mil (US$78mil) for an additional 60% stake in Ping Petroleum Ltd, raising its stake in the oil and gas company to 90%.

DNeX said it entered into a conditional share sale and purchase agreement with the other shareholders of Ping to acquire the stake, which upon completion will increase its holdings in the latter to 90%.

"This transaction supports DNeX’s strategy to further establish its presence in the upstream Oil and Gas business, which can be progressively scaled up over time,” said group managing director Datuk Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said in a statement.

The proposed acquisition will be satisfied by a combination of US$40.95mil (RM165mil) in cash, and the issuance of new ordinary shares in DNeX and new redeemable preference shares in DNeX Energy, for the remaining US$37.05mil (RM149.3mil).