PETALING JAYA - Caprice Capital International Ltd, helmed by savvy investor Paul Poh, is the buyer of a block of 25 million shares in Pelikan International Corp Bhd that was transacted in an off-market trade yesterday, sources said.
The block, which amounts to around 4.5 per cent of Pelikan's share base, was transacted at a price of RM1.13 (S$0.44) per share.
Sources said the vendors of the block were a group of Singapore-based investors who had begun investing in Pelikan sometime in mid-August 2013, when its share price had suffered selling pressure and dipped to a low of 33.5 sen per share after its proposed share-swap deal with China-based China Stationery Ltd was subsequently unwound.
Pelikan shares have been rising this week, up by 13.7 per cent in the last two days to end at RM1.33 per share with a market cap of RM708.22 million yesterday.
It is understood that Caprice Capital, which has sought out other undervalued companies to invest in in the past, is attracted to the already announced plan by Pelikan to embark on a corporate restructuring which could see it raising millions of ringgit.
The restructuring entails the injection of Pelikan's stationery units and a logistics warehouse worth a total of RM1.19 billion into its 70.9 per cent-owned subsidiary Herlitz Aktiengesellschaft. Herlitz is listed in Frankfurt, Germany. In return, Pelikan will receive 266 million new shares in Herlitz.
The proposed exercise, which will involve a private placement and offer for sale of shares to raise at least RM491.3 million, is mainly aimed at unlocking the value of some of its key assets across the globe. Part of the proceeds will be utlilised to pare down the company's debt.
Pelikan has key stationery subsidiaries in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Mexico, Japan and the Middle East, as well as a logistics warehouse in Berlin.
It has been loss-making in the past two financial years, but hopes to return to profitability by the end of this year. For the second quarter ended June 30, it registered a net profit of RM17.21 million, up from RM8.78 million in the previous corresponding quarter.
The company's major shareholder is Lembaga Tabung Haji with 30.95 per cent. President and chief executive officer Loo Hooi Keat, meanwhile, has a direct 9.84 per cent stake in the stock.
Caprice Capital was a cornerstone investor in last year's mega-initial public offering of UMW Oil and Gas Corp Bhd. It has also made investments with Creador, the private equity fund helmed by Brahmal Vasudevan, into companies such as Bonia Corp Bhd and MNC Sky Vision, Indonesia's largest pay-TV operator.
This year, Caprice also bought into oil and gas services firms Scomi Energy Services Bhd and Alam Maritim Resources Bhd.