KUALA LUMPUR (March 9): Former finance minister II Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani bought another 109.7 million Media Prima Bhd shares in the open market today through his private investment vehicle, JAG Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd, as its share price tumbled by 10%.

In a filing exchange, following the announcement, Johari increased his stake in the group to 4.96% or 55 million shares, of which 4.93% or 54.7 million shares are indirectly held.

Johari is a director of JAG Capital and CI Holdings Bhd. He is also the chairman and largest shareholder of KUB Malaysia Bhd.

As it stands, Bloomberg data reveals that Aurora Mulia Sdn Bhd, a vehicle related to billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, is still the largest shareholder of Media Prima with a holding of 31.9% or 353.82 million shares.

Meanwhile, investment bank and financial services company Morgan Stanley is the second largest shareholder with 12.83% or 142.34 million shares.

Recently, Media Prima returned to the black with a net profit of RM18.84 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (4QFY20), from a net loss of RM104.46 million a year ago, underpinned by lower operating expenses achieved through its cost optimisation initiatives.

For the full FY20, the group's net loss narrowed 90% year-on-year to RM18.38 million from RM177.85 million, driven by the group's transformation exercise, which contributed to lower operating expenses in FY20.

Shares of Media Prima ended seven sen or 10.07% lower to 62 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM693 million. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has risen by 119%.