KNM MD may consider leading buyout

KNM Group Bhd managing director Lee Swee Eng said he will consider leading a management buyout of the Malaysian oil and gas services provider as long as banks can raise the funds.
Investment bankers have approached Lee, who owns 25 per cent of KNM, and suggested he buy the remaining shares, though none has made a proposal that includes financing, he said. KNM has lost 71 per cent in the past six months in Kuala Lumpur trading, cutting its market value to RM1.31 billion (US$354 million).
“We are very undervalued,” Lee, who set up Selangor-based KNM in 1990, said in an interview on March 13. “The opportunity for privatisation is a good opportunity, but it’s the source of funding. There’s no offer on the table.”