PNB yet to decide on Sunway's offer for IJM Corp stake

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 6): Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has yet to decide on Sunway Bhd’s (KL:SUNWAY) voluntary general offer (VGO) to acquire its shares in IJM Corporation Bhd (KL:IJM) and will assess the offer based on commercial considerations, including the investment returns based on IJM’s intrinsic and future value, the cash consideration and the estimated future value of swap shares offered.

To recap, on Jan 12, Sunway proposed a conditional voluntary takeover offer to acquire all 3.51 billion shares in IJM at an offer price of RM3.15 per share, involving a total consideration of about RM11.0 billion to be settled through a combination of cash and the issuance of new ordinary Sunway shares.

PNB said Sunway had just issued the offer document to all shareholders of IJM, and the independent adviser appointed by IJM’s board is due to issue their advice by March 16, with the offer open for acceptance until April 6, or a later date as allowed under the rules on takeovers, mergers and compulsory acquisitions.

“PNB also wishes to reiterate that it currently holds a stake of less than 13.5% in IJM and therefore has no influence on the final outcome of the takeover offer which was made to all shareholders of IJM, given the offer will only succeed if more than 50% of IJM shareholders accept the offer,” PNB told Bernama in a written reply to a query following the recent explanation by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof in Parliament regarding the VGO and PNB’s position as a minority shareholder in the matter.

Fadillah told Parliament on Wednesday that PNB will assess Sunway’s offer based on commercial considerations, offer risks, governance, investment returns, and its strategic plans post-acquisition.

He also said any decision to accept or reject the offer would be made independently, subject to PNB’s governance processes and internal approvals.

Likewise, PNB said that, in line with its stringent investment framework, guided by investment and fiduciary discipline and focused on long-term value creation for the benefit of all its unitholders, the proposed VGO will undergo rigorous internal assessment before consideration and final decision by the PNB board’s investment committee.

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