KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 18): Mercury Securities Group Bhd (MSGB), which received an unusual market activity (UMA) query from Bursa Securities after its shares hit a limit-down on Wednesday, said it is in talks to purchase a business that fits the group’s current operations.

“The management is currently in negotiation to purchase a business which is complementary to the existing business of MSGB and its subsidiaries. However, the terms and conditions of the purchase have yet to be finalised,” the brokerage said in a filing on Thursday in response to the UMA query.

MSGB said it would make an announcement once the terms and conditions of the purchase have been finalised and agreed upon by all parties.

Shares of MSGB continued to dive to close at 41.5 sen on Thursday — down four sen or 8.79% from Wednesday’s close of 45.5 sen — bringing down the group's market value to RM370.59 million.

The stock has come down 53.1% or 47 sen from its all-time high of 88.5 sen on Monday, erasing about RM419.71 million in market capitalisation over the past three days.

MSGB was listed on the ACE Market on Sept 9 last year, with its initial public offering priced at 25 sen per share.

The group’s largest shareholder is its founder Chew Sing Guan, a veteran of the stockbroking industry, who holds a 37.10% direct stake.

MSGB's non-executive director Datuk Rahman Safar holds a 8.24% stake, while fellow non-executive director Chan Kim Hing owns a 0.07% stake.

MSGB made a net loss of RM421,704 on revenue of RM8.71 million for its fourth quarter ended Oct 31, 2023. For the full-year, net profit came in at RM8.38 million while revenue totalled RM27.41 million.