KNM CEO asks if takeover attempt a ‘cheaper way’ to acquire group’s units

KUALA LUMPUR: KNM chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director Ravindrasingham Balasingham alleged that the emergency general meeting (EGM) requested by German tycoon Andreas Heeschen to remove the current board of directors came as "no surprise”.

"Is this attempted takeover of KNM by Heeschen a cheaper way to acquire Borsig Group and FBM Hudson Group?

"The shareholders and creditors of KNM stand to lose all compared to our competitive monetisation process,” he asked in a statement today.

Ravindrasingham revealed that Heeschen was unsuccessful in acquiring two of KNM’s units, Borsig Group and FBM Hudson Group.

He said that although the group’s shares are hugely undervalued, it holds within it the Borsig Group, with an attractive market valuation in excess of 300 million euros (RM1.5 billion).

According to a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, Sept 5, the proposed board replacements are Johor princess Tunku Kamariah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Sultan Iskandar, Heeschen, Edwin Silvester Das, Datuk Zaidi Mat Isa, William H Van Vliet III, Datuk Abd Ghani Yusof and former KNM director and FBM Hudson Group CEO Flavio Porro.

As of Sept 1, Heeschen is KNM’s second-largest shareholder with a 7.91 per cent stake or 320 million shares.

Ravindrasingham said the current board of directors and management was established on Nov 8, 2022, following the previous management’s failure to implement the necessary monetisation of its assets effectively.

"We have gone to great lengths to implement a proper professional approach to the whole monetisation exercise, and we are doing so with absolute transparency. Our commitment and immediate course of action have been greatly appreciated and valued by our existing creditors.

"With this unprecedented level of engagement and extensive efforts in executing our win-win strategy, we have won over the majority of our creditors, and they have, either explicitly or implicitly, continued to support the current Management of KNM Group Bhd,” he said in a statement today.

The current boardroom tussle is just before KNM’s next court hearing on Sept 20, where it will seek an extension of the restraining order to facilitate its restructuring.

"The potential plan to replace the current board of directors and management of KNM could impact the court’s decision solely because this creates doubt on the current draft Scheme of Arrangement and, as previously occurred, lead to another postponement of the decision on this restraining order by the court, until after the requisitioned extraordinary general meeting,” Ravindrasingham added. - Bernama