BLand sells BToto stake for RM80m cash

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) sold 18.301 million shares or a 1.37% stake in Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd (BToto) on Thursday for a total cash consideration of RM79.61 million or RM4.35 per share.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, BLand said the net proceeds from the disposal will be utilised as working capital and repayment of bank borrowings of the BLand group.

With the disposal, BLand and its unlisted subsidiaries now hold a total of 533.61 million shares representing a 40% stake in BToto.

BLand's parent, Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) and its unlisted subsidiaries also hold 132.44 million shares representing a 9.93% stake in BToto. This means that the whole BCorp group still owns about a 49.93% stake in BToto.

Tan Sri Vincent Tan, being the major shareholder of BCorp, also personally holds a 1.13% stake in BToto. Thus, with all the shareholdings combined, Tan still effectively controls over 51% of BToto, the jewel of the BCorp group.