New substantial shareholder emerges in SMRT

PETALING JAYA: Brahmal Vasudevan, reportedly the right hand man of low-profile tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan, has emerged as a new substantial shareholder of human resource development (HRD) provider SMRT Holdings Bhd.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, SMRT said Brahmal on Monday (May 5) bought 1.74 million shares, bringing up his total direct shareholding in the company to 12.6 million shares or 6.62% stake.
SMRT told the stock exchange that this was on top of a 10.86 million shares or 5.71% stake he secured last Friday.
While there was talk in October 2013 that Brahmal had acquired a stake in Scicom (MSC) Bhd, his name has yet to emerge as a substantial shareholder in the company.
Brahmal, aged 46 who is the CEO of private equity fund Creador Sdn Bhd, indirectly owned by Ananda, reportedly acquired a 6.82% stake in leatherwear manufacturer Bonia Corp Bhd , through Milingtonia Ltd. Milingtonia is reportedly linked to Creador which was founded in 2011.
Brahmal has been a director at Ananda's Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd since 2008. He has also had a stint in Astro before.
Meanwhile SMRT also announces plans to to undertake a private placement of up to 29.188 million new shares to raise up to RM8.81 million for the group's working capital requirements and repayment of bank borrowings.
SMRT's shares jumped 23.29% or 8.5 sen to close at 45 sen yesterday, with some 22.7 million shares changing hands.