KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 1): Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, the son of Sarawak Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud, has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of KNM Group Bhd, after he disposed of a 0.03% stake or 1.1 million shares in the group.

The disposal comes less than a month after Abu Bekir emerged as a substantial shareholder of the group on Oct 9.

Following the stake disposal, he now has a 4.99% stake or 202.37 million shares in the oil and gas engineering firm.

Abu Bekir is currently the deputy group chairman and a non-independent and non-executive director of Sarawak-based cement manufacturer Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd.

According to a local bourse filing on Wednesday, Abu Bekir disposed of 100,000 shares in the open market last Friday, and another one million shares on Monday.

Based on the closing price of the stock on both days, a back-of-envelope calculation shows that Abu Bekir has sold off 1.1 million KNM shares for a total of RM110,000.

Financially distressed KNM on Monday sought an extension to submit its regularisation plan, stating that it needs another year to work on the plan.

The group also came into the spotlight because of a boardroom tussle, after a group of shareholders, led by German businessman Andreas Heeschen with a 8.25% stake, wanted to remove nine board members, including chairman Tunku Datuk Yaacob Khyra.

However, the group only managed to remove two directors — Tan Sri Dr Zulhasnan Rafique and Steve Ho Soo Woon — in an extraordinary general meeting on Oct 16.

Shares in KNM closed unchanged at 10 sen on Wednesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM386.20 million.

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