Mtouche in for a change

Major investor Datuk Kamarudin Meranun has raised his stake further

PETALING JAYA: Time Air Sdn Bhd co-founder and major shareholder Datuk Kamarudin Meranun has taken up another block of shares in mobile content provider mtouche Technology Bhd.

Shareholding filings with Bursa Malaysia showed that Kamarudin, a co-founder of Airasia Bhd, had acquired another 15 million shares, bringing his total stake in the company to 11.53% or 26.25 million shares.

Sources familiar with mtouche said the company could likely see a major change in its shareholding structure as mtouche chief executive officer Eugene Goh was being pressured to settle a total ofrm20mil that he owed to OSK Capital Partners Sdn Bhd in margin.

“Goh is being pressured to settle his margin with OSK taken to fund a previous rights issue. This is likely to be done via an arrangement which will see him sell off his remaining block of shares to a group of people, likely led by Kamarudin,” said a source.

Goh, who has been trimming his stake in mtouche recently, would lose control over the company he founded if this happenned, the source noted.

According to Bloomberg data, Goh holds 26.2% of the company while the second and third-largest shareholder is OSK Capital Partners with a 21.27% stake and Tan Wee Meng who had a 15.55% stake, respectively.

Tan reduced his stake earlier this week to 8.64%, selling his shares off at 40 sen a piece in an off-market trade. Ng Joo How, the fourth-largest shareholder, has ceased to be a shareholder of the company.

Shares in mtouche ended 1 sen lower to 46.5sen at yesterday’s close.