The Jakel Group, led by Faroz and his brother Nizam, surprised the market this year when they emerged as substantial shareholders of Cypark Resources Bhd. The brothers, who are involved in textile trading and property development through the Jakel Group, are no strangers to the capital market. After all, they have emerged as shareholders in Sedania Innovator Bhd, TH Heavy Engineering Bhd, Scomi Group Bhd and Dataprep Holdings Bhd.
This time, though, their move signals to the market that it wants to have skin in the game in the renewable energy (RE) space. On Jan 4 this year, the Jakel Group’s investment arm Jakel Capital Sdn Bhd bought a 23.08% stake in Cypark via a private placement at 38 sen per share, or a total of RM67.13 million, making it the single-largest shareholder in the RE and solid waste management company. The brothers also acquired a direct 4.6% stake in Cypark on top of the 23.08% stake owned via Jakel Capital.
The investments are interesting, as Cypark was facing a myriad of issues at that time, including diminishing profitability and increasing debts, owing to a delay in projects, especially from its waste-to-energy plant in Negeri Sembilan and large-scale solar projects.
In January, shortly after Jakel took a substantial stake in Cypark, Nizam emerged as a substantial shareholder in Johor-based oil palm planter Harn Len Corp Bhd by injecting its privately owned plantation firm into Main Market-listed Harn Len for RM55 million in a cash-plus-shares deal.
It seems the Jakel Group is in the money on its investment in Cypark, given the surge in Cypark’s share price from 52 sen earlier this year to 95 sen on Dec 12. This was despite the company’s taking on a massive impairment for the February-to-April period, resulting in its maiden net loss of RM298.48 million since its listing. Furthermore, it has yet to deliver its solar farm projects that could boost the group’s RE assets to 400mw.
In fact, the brothers further reinforced their investment in Cypark, with Jakel Capital’s subscription of RM265 million of its Perpetual Sukuk Musharakah in September this year.
It will be very interesting to see what is next for the Jakel group in 2024, especially now that it has set up its own investment arm to spread its wings beyond the textile business. — By Intan Farhana Zainul