What will happen if UEM Sunrise merges with Eco World?

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): Talk of merger of two of the country’s “property giants” has risen again last week but sources “familiar with the discussion” said that “things are still at the exploratory stage and that any deal is some time away”, The Edge Malaysia reported.

However, what will be the situation if a merger between Eco World Development Group Bhd (EWDG) and UEM Sunrise Bhd (UEMS) does take place?

The weekly’s report stated that “Khazanah Nasional Bhd will end up as the controlling shareholder with a stake of around 43%”. EWDG’s controlling shareholder Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin “will have a stake of only 8.5%”.

“Khazanah will be clearly in control of the merged entity if it takes place. Allegations that a merger will be tantamount to Khazanah selling a GLC (government-linked company) to a Chinese is not true,” another source told the business publication.

It added that “Liew and his EWDG team will effectively be working for Khazanah as the controlling shareholder” if the merger does take place.

The source also explained that “any deal will not involve cash and will be a pure share swap”.

The sources involved in the discussion revealed that a merger “makes sense as it will bring the respective strengths of the two companies together” but added that “there are still many boxes to tick before it can happen”.

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Read the full report in this week’s The Edge Malaysia