KUALA LUMPUR: While Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLBB) has yet to make a revised offer to take over EON Capital Bhd’s (EONCap) banking assets, four board members of the latter have tendered their resignations, three days after shareholders approved the appointment of an additional seven directors.

In a statement yesterday, EONCap announced the resignations of its chairman Tan Sri Syed Anwar Jamalullail and three others, Datuk Mohd Shahari Ahmad Jabar, Rodney Gordon Ward and Yeo Kar Peng.

EONCap said Syed Anwar had tendered his resignation from its board as well as EON Bank Bhd, while the rest would continue to serve as directors in the subsidiaries, including EON Bank Bhd, EONCap Islamic Bank Bhd and MIMB Investment Bank Bhd.

“The effect of the resignations is subject to clearance from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM),” EONCap said.

This confirms The Edge weekly report recently that the four independent directors would resign if and when shareholders were to approve the appointment of the additional seven directors.

Rin Kei Mei, a substantial shareholder in EONCap with a 15.5% stake, succeeded in getting shareholders’ approval to appoint the seven new directors to the board of the banking group in an EGM on Monday.  

He is leading the group of shareholders who were agreeable to the attempted takeover offer of EONCap’s assets and liabilities by HLBB.  EONCap’s board had rejected the offer, citing the price of RM4.92 billion or RM7.10 per share offer as too low.

It is widely believed that the new board members Tengku Ahmad Faisal Tengku Ibrahim, Tengku Azman Ibni Sultan Abu Bakar, Haron Siraj, Zaha Rina Zahari, Wee Hoe Soon @ Gooi Hoe Soon, Nicholas John Lough @ Sharif Lough Abdullah and Ahmad Riza Basir would be backing the takeover offer by HLBB.

BNM’s decision on the appointment and resignation of the board members will be critical. If it rejects the appointment of some, or all, of the seven new directors, Rin will suffer a major setback. Other major shareholders are Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King with a 17.1% share, Primus Pacific Partners (HK) Ltd (20.2%), Khazanah Nasional Bhd (10%) and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) with 12%.

Primus Pacific is said to have opposed the deal as it had in 2008 bought into EONCap at RM9.55 per share, 25.7% more than HLBB’s offer price. Beside Rin, most of the other substantial shareholders including Khananah are also believed to be in favour of the takeover offer by HLBB.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, March 19, 2010.