LINEAR rallies to more than 2-month high

Linear Corporation Bhd’s shares rallied to a more than two-month high of 15 sen, as investor sentiment in the Practice Note 17 company perked up with the entry of a white knight.

The counter was actively traded yesterday with 15.86 million shares changing hands. It hit an intra-day high of 18.5 sen and closed 6.5 sen or 76.5% higher at 15 sen, its highest level since June 28.

The Edge Financial Daily reported yesterday that three new directors were appointed on Wednesday to help turn around the company.

They are independent and non-executive director Datuk Ling Keak Ming,  non-independent and non-executive director Lim Hun Beng and independent and non-executive director Adam Bachek.
Ling, a former director of Magnum Corporation Bhd from 2000 to 2007, is closely associated with the MWE Holdings group, where he is currently managing director of MWE Advanced Structure Sdn Bhd and MWE Golf & Country Club Bhd.

The new white knight, a low-profile businessman based in Penang, now plans to pump in additional funds to revive Linear, sources told The Edge Financial Daily. They also say that the previous white knight, who owned a 19.92% stake in Linear via privately held Crystal Insight Sdn Bhd, had sold his stake to this new white knight some three weeks ago.

With the additional funds, this may also change the previous turnaround plans, which had included a sale and leaseback of Linear’s factory in Penang to raise cash for the company’s operations.



Written by Joseph Chin
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, September 3 2010.