800 Super's controlling shareholders bought almost S$1m of shares as stock slumped

THE controlling shareholders of 800 Super Holdings recently acquired almost S$1 million of shares from the open market amid a slump in the stock, according to filings with the Singapore Exchange on Monday.

Yong Seong Investment, an investment vehicle whose major shareholders include 800 Super executive chairman Lee Koh Yong, chief executive Lee Cheng Chye and their brother and company employee Lee Hock Seong, bought 1.191 million shares on Sept 6 and 7 for S$980,224.80 in total. The average per-share price was 80.34 Singapore cents on Sept 6, and 84.14 Singapore cents on Sept 7, equal to an overall average price of 82.30 Singapore cents per share.

The purchases increased Yong Seong Investment's stake in 800 Super by 0.67 percentage point, to 67.63 per cent from 66.96 per cent. The three siblings are all deemed to be interested in the vehicle's shares. Lee Koh Yong and Lee Hock Seong each directly own a further 2.8 per cent interest in 800 Super, while Lee Cheng Chye has a directly held 2.4 per cent stake.

The transactions came amid a recent selloff in 800 Super's stock after the company reported on Aug 28 that it incurred a loss of S$1.65 million for the three months June 30, 2018 from a year-ago profit of S$2.72 million.

From a S$1.00 close on Aug 27, the stock fell for the next four sessions, shedding 36.5 per cent to two-year lows by the time it settled at 63.5 Singapore cents. The stock has made back some of that decline since then, and was last at 86 Singapore cents as at 2.52pm on Monday. On Sept 6, 800 Super shares closed at 82 Singapore cents. A day later, they closed at 84 Singapore cents.