THE trading week was shortened by one public holiday — the replacement holiday for Wesak Day on May 20.

Between May 15 and 21, the most notable off-market trade was the change of ownership at cement maker Lafarge Malaysia Bhd, which saw 433.34 million shares, or 51% equity interest, cross off market in five direct deals on May 15. Recall that YTL Cement Bhd, a 98%-owned unit of YTL Corp Bhd, had entered into a sales and purchase of share agreement with Associated International Cement Ltd for a 51% stake in Lafarge.

YTL Cement’s acquisition triggered a mandatory general offer for the remaining 49% it did not own in Lafarge. The offer was RM3.75 per share or RM1.63 billion in total for the 49% stake. YTL intends to maintain Lafarge’s listing status on Bursa Malaysia.

The transaction price of RM3.75 per share was at a 25% premium to Lafarge’s net tangible assets of RM2.99 per share as at end-2018.

Over at Penang-based construction material manufacturer, JMR Conglomeration Bhd, 6.7 million shares, or a 5.28% stake, crossed off market in two direct deals on May 16 and 17.

The two blocks of shares were transacted at RM1 apiece, for a total transaction value of RM6.7 million. The identities of the buyer and seller were not known at the time of writing.

According to filings with Bursa, KL-based Legacy Fiduciary Sdn Bhd — owned by Leslie Tan Yick Yea, an investor from Miri, Sarawak — has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of JMR Conglomeration after offloading six million shares on the open market on May 16.

The buyer is likely to be Global Legacy Partners Sdn Bhd, another KL-based firm, which acquired six million shares on the open market on the same day. It now owns 13 million shares, or a 10.25% direct stake, in JMR Conglomeration.

Household appliances distributor Milux Corp Bhd saw 2.7 million shares or 4.96% equity interest cross off market in two direct deals on May 21. A quick check on Bursa shows that Datuk Mohamed Salleh Bajuri disposed of one million shares for RM800,000 via a direct business transaction on May 21.

On May 3, Milux announced to Bursa that Topspike Holding Sdn Bhd and Asia New Venture Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd (ANVCHSB) had launched a conditional mandatory takeover offer for the electrical appliance manufacturer.

Topspike is jointly owned by Datuk Wira Ling Kak Chok (50%+1 share) and Gan Boon Lay (50%) while ANVCHSB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asia Capital Fund Ltd, a private strategic fund company. Yee Carine owns an 80% stake in Asia Capital Fund while the remaining 20% is held by Teh Sok Hoon.

IT services provider Vortex Consolidated Bhd saw 14.93 million shares, or 4.9% equity interest, cross off market in multiple block trades at 21.5 sen to 30.5 sen apiece between May 15 and 21. At press time, the identities of the buyer and seller had not been revealed.

Industrial products supplier SCH Group Bhd saw 24.24 million shares, or 4.36% equity interest, cross off market at 12 sen to 13 sen apiece on May 21.

Neither the seller nor the buyer had been disclosed as at press time. SCH has not made any announcements on changes in shareholding since January this year.

Financial services provider Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) saw 250 million shares, or a 3.91% stake, cross off market in six direct deals at 93 sen apiece on May 16. According to a May 17 filing, the seller was low-profile businessman Tan Sri Chua Ma Yu, who ceased to be a substantial shareholder of MBSB after the sale.