NCT Alliance seeks to boost Sabah land bank via majority stake acquisition

• The RM36 million purchase will be fully settled via a transfer of NCT’s shares which includes RM3.6 million via 7.5 million treasury shares valued at 48 sen each and another RM32.4 million via the issuance of 67.5 million new NCT shares, also at 48 sen per share.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 10): Property outfit NCT Alliance Bhd (KL:NCT) has proposed another acquisition of a majority stake in a Sabah landowner. The RM36 million acquisition will be settled via a share transfer.

NCT Alliance said its wholly owned unit NCT Panorama Sdn Bhd has entered into an agreement with Datuk Yap Yiw Sin and his wife Datin Ang Guan to acquire a 55.72% stake in Grorich Corp Sdn Bhd, which owns a parcel of land in Putatan, Sabah.

“The proposed acquisition reaffirms the group’s expansion efforts to increase its land bank in strategic locations in Malaysia and widen its development portfolio,” NCT said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday.

Upon completion of the deal, NCT Alliance will seek relevant approvals to develop the Putatan land.

The RM36 million purchase will be fully settled via a transfer of NCT’s shares which includes RM3.6 million via 7.5 million treasury shares valued at 48 sen each and another RM32.4 million via the issuance of 67.5 million new NCT shares, also at 48 sen per share.

In total, NCT will transfer about 75 million shares to acquire 43.6% from Yap and 12.12% from Ang. The 67.5 million new shares will represent 4.03% of NCT’s existing share base (excluding treasury shares) as of May 30.

The acquisition comes just three months after NCT Alliance announced a deal to acquire a 51% stake in Sabah-based Setara Juara Sdn Bhd for RM22 million. That acquisition is tied to the group’s Ion Marina Bay project in Putatan, spanning 249.7 acres, with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM3.4 billion, to be developed in three phases over nine years.

The group’s entry project in Sabah was Ion Borneo Garden in Penampang, which is slated for launch in the third quarter of this year, with an estimated GDV of RM175.5 million.

NCT said the new Putatan acquisition would enable it to conserve cash reserves and minimise gearing impact, as the transaction is entirely funded by share issuance.

“The board believes the proposed acquisition will further enhance NCT’s reputation as a developer of quality homes in Malaysia and provide a solid foundation to capitalise on the growing real estate market in Sabah in the coming years,” it said.

Shares in NCT Alliance rose half a sen or 1.03% to 49 sen on Tuesday, valuing the company at RM922.95 million.

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