KUALA LUMPUR: Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s top management has been buying the group’s shares on the open market, even as the stock came under selling pressure for the second consecutive day.
According to an announcement to Bursa Malaysia, four of Astro’s key management members, including chief executive Rohana Rozhan, have collectively bought half a million Astro shares on the open market for a total of RM1.37 million during the closed period.
The pay TV operator’s shares traded as low as RM2.70 yesterday, or 10% below the listing price of RM3. The counter closed at RM2.72, down 1.8% from the previous day.
Trading volumes were lower yesterday with only 73.2 million shares traded, compared with Monday’s 120 million.
Rohana bought 100,000 shares on the open market yesterday at an average price of RM2.72, increasing her holdings to 2.6 million shares.
On the same day, chief operating officer Henry Tan Poh Hock picked up 100,000 shares at an average price of RM2.72, increasing his stake to 700,000 shares. Chief commercial officer Liew Swee Lin bought 200,000 shares yesterday at an average price of RM2.74 a piece, bringing her holdings in the company to 590,000 shares.
Another deemed principal officer, Tan Wei Ming, bought 100,000 shares on the open market at an average price of RM2.78 on Monday.
It is not entirely surprising that Astro’s share price underperformed post-IPO because it had gone to market fully priced-in. At RM2.72 a share, Astro is valued at an estimated 26.15 times forward earnings.
Notably, Astro was missing the presence of several major local government-linked funds, for instance the Employees Provident Fund, Lembaga Tabung Haji and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Pekerja (KWAP).
In a related development, Astro announced yesterday that its wholly owned unit, Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd, had served a notice of arbitration on privately held AV Asia Sdn Bhd.
AV Asia in collaboration with Japan-listed company Maspro Denkoh Corp was working on rain fade dish antennae, a product Astro allegedly was interested in.
However no deal was struck between the two parties.
In October 2010, Measat Broadcast Network Systems was served with claim by AV Asia alleging that the former had breached the terms of a mutual non-disclosure agreement dated August 1, 2008.
AV Asia sought an injunction restraining Measat Broadcast Network Systems from using any confidential information.
It sought damages of RM4.41 million for research and development and mould die cost, and a further RM1.34 billion for loss of commercialisation, among others.
In its prospectus, Astro had disclosed that it had good grounds to successfully oppose the suit.
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Oct 24, 2012.
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