Kian Joo sales on and off saga
Filed Under (Business News) by Webmaster on 01-05-2009
Tagged Under : Can-One, Kian Joo, KPMG
The sale of Kian Joo Holdings Bhd’s stake in Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd (KJCF) may have hit a snag again.
This is the latest twist in the saga of the See family’s long drawn-out dispute to dispose of its 34.64% stake in KJCF.
It is believed that a majority of the See family or contributories of Kian Joo Holdings have voted not to sell a 32.9% stake of KJCF to another can maker, Can-One Bhd, at a meeting with Kian Joo Holdings’ liquidator KPMG Corporate Services Sdn Bhd yesterday.
A source said if KPMG heeded the objection of the contributories the sale might not go through.
“This is a possible scenario as the liquidator was the one who called for the meeting to hear the contributories out. They will try to make everyone happy or there may be even more lawsuits heading their way. Nevertheless, it is all in the hands of the liquidator,” the source said.
Last month, Can-One through its wholly-owned subsidiary Can-One International Sdn Bhd entered into a share sale agreement with Kian Joo Holdings to buy a 32.9% stake in KJCF for RM241.12mil or RM1.65 per share.
This resulted in a legal suit by KJCF managing director Datuk See Teow Chuan and 13 others who claimed that the transaction was “illegal”.
This is the second attempt to sell the stake in KJCF after a bid from Cycle & Carriage Singapore fell through following objections from both parties in 1999.
Last year, poor market conditions foiled Teow Chuan’s purchase of the said stake. KPMG was not available for comment at press time.
The See family dispute started some 14 years ago and split the See family into two factions.
It also led to proceedings to liquidate the Sees’ private holding company Kian Joo Holdings.
The faction led by Teow Chuan wants to liquidate Kian Joo Holdings by selling the shares through open tender and having the proceeds distributed among the See family members while the other faction, led by his younger brother and KJCF executive director Datuk Anthony See, wants the liquidation done via a distribution of the shares in specie.
Shares of KJCF were up 1 sen to close at RM1.20 yesterday.
