German businessman Andreas Heeschen has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of KNM Group Bhd after disposing of over 61.56 million shares on Aug 2.

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 5): KNM Group Bhd (KL:KNM) said German businessman Andreas Heeschen has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of the loss-making firm after disposing of over 61.56 million shares.

Heeschen sold the block of shares via the open market on Aug 2, according to the process equipment manufacturer and modular process systems provider's bourse filing on Monday.

The filing did not indicate the transaction's value but based on the closing price of 8.5 sen on Aug 2, the sale could have earned Heeschen up to RM5.23 million.

Heeschen's stake in KNM post-disposal stands at 4.89%, below the 5% threshold required for substantial shareholding status, the company said.

The German first emerged as a substantial shareholder of KNM in September last year, seeking to nominate Johor princess Tunku Kamariah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Sultan Iskandar as chairman as part of a board takeover of the financially-stressed group.

However, Heeschen's efforts encountered a setback after a group of shareholders led by him failed in their attempt to oust nine board members, including chairman Tunku Datuk Yaacob Khyra, at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in October last year.

Immediately after the EGM, Tunku Kamariah and Heeschen denounced the results, citing “possible irregularities in the vote count”.

Yaacob currently controls the group with an 18.69% shareholding via MAA Group Bhd, Imperium Edumaax Sdn Bhd, and Melewar Industrial Group Bhd.

The group slipped into Practice Note 17 (PN17) status in 2021 after defaulting on 2.78 billion baht of Thai bonds, but it was only classified as PN17 in 2022 due to Bursa Malaysia's Covid-19 relief measures.

For the first quarter ended March 1, 2024, KNM logged a net loss of RM80.13 million, primarily due to finance costs for capital assets under construction. Revenue totalled RM216.4 million. There are no comparative figures as the group had changed its financial year end from June 30, 2023, to Dec 31, 2023.

Shares in KNM closed one sen, or 11.76%, lower at 7.5 sen on Monday, valuing the group at RM303.44 million.