THE BIGGEST shareholder in the Kentz group has sold part of its stake in the quoted engineering business for €78 million.
Kerbet, which represents the interests of chairman Tan Sri Mohd Razali Abdul Rahman and director Hassan Abas, announced that it sold 15 million shares in the group for £64.5 million (€78 million). It sold the shares at a price of £4.30 each to institutional investors.
Kerbet had originally intended to sell 12 million shares, but increased it to 15 million in response to strong demand.
It will retain a 15.875 per cent stake in the engineering group and has agreed not to sell any further shares for at least six months.
Kerbet took a 60 per cent stake in the Kentz group in 1994 at a time when the company had been placed in examinership and was under court protection from its creditors.
Kentz had to be rescued after one of its clients, Hovissa, for which it was building a hotel in Barcelona, Spain, was itself placed under court protection.
Kerbet was the biggest beneficiary when the group subsequently floated on the London Stock Exchange in early 2008.
The shareholders at that time got a total of €64 million from the flotation, and Kerbet, which held the largest single stake in the company, received 60 per cent of that.
The chairman said yesterday that Kerbet had had a long-standing investment in Kentz, which had been in place for more than 18 years. He added that he was “delighted” with the way the management team of Kentz has developed the business.
“The proposed sale is aimed at achieving greater portfolio diversification, but Kerbet remains a firm supporter of the company with a material stake in it,” he said, “and I am looking forward to continuing in my role as chairman.”
Kentz provides engineering and instrumentation services to the oil and gas, pharmaceutical and, mining and metals industries. It has operations in Africa, the Americas, Australasia and the Middle East.
Last week the group reported that profits in 2011 increased 18 per cent to €60 million, while revenues rose almost 30 per cent to €1.03 billion.
Kentz originally listed on London’s junior Alternative Investment Market, but stepped up to the main market last July. It is a FTSE 250 company.
