Johor Sultan now owns 8.44% in 7-Eleven Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar of Johor has emerged as a substantial shareholder in 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

Filings with Bursa Malaysia showed that the Johor ruler now owns a direct stake of 8.44%, or 93.7 million shares, in the single-largest convenience store chain operator in the country.

This makes Sultan Ibrahim the second-largest shareholder in 7-Eleven after tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun.

A separate statement from 7-Eleven yesterday indicated that Sultan Ibrahim had been accumulating shares in the company since last month.

On Monday, he acquired an additional

629,100 7-Eleven shares.

7-Eleven shares fell one sen, or 0.71%, to close at RM1.40 yesterday.

Although Tan has reduced his stake in 7-Eleven, he remains the biggest shareholder in the firm.

As at Aug 3, 2017, the tycoon owned a 41.27% stake in 7-Eleven, of which 0.91% was directly owned, while the remainder was held mainly through Berjaya Retail Bhd. This compared with his stake of 49.66% as at March 31, 2017.

Meanwhile, Berjaya Group Bhd has ceased to be substantial shareholder in 7-Eleven, after having disposed of 43.9 million shares in the company.

Effectively, Berjaya Corp Bhd and Juara Sejati also ceased to be substantial shareholder in 7-Eleven on Aug 3.

“I am very pleased that Sultan Ibrahim has increased his stake in 7-Eleven Malaysia.

“This augurs well for the company, given that Tuanku is known to be an astute investor with a keen eye for companies and businesses with strong fundamentals and good growth potential,” Tan said in a statement.

Besides 7-Eleven, Sultan Ibrahim also owns shares in several companies in which Tan also has stakes.

They include REDtone International Bhd, in which Tan owns about a 51.71% stake through Berjaya Corp Bhd, while Sultan Ibrahim directly owns a 17.9% stake.

The other is U Mobile Sdn Bhd, in which Tan is the second-largest shareholder with a 21.46% stake, followed by Sultan Ibrahim with 15%.