City & Country: Briefs

MRCB-IJM Land merger called off
The proposed merger between Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) and IJM Land Bhd has been scrapped after both parties failed to agree on the terms of the memorandum of understanding which expired on Dec 29.

“The memorandum of understanding, in relation to the proposed merger, has lapsed and ceased to have any further effect,” MRCB said on Dec 30.
The merger was expected to create the country’s second largest property company with a market capitalisation of over RM7 billion and landbank of more than 9,000 acres.

MRCB’s property development activities are mainly concentrated in KL Sentral, although it has a 4,000-acre township in Perak. IJM Land’s strength is in township developments, with projects focused in the Klang Valley, Penang, Johor, Negri Sembilan, Sabah and Sarawak. It also has projects in Vietnam and China, and a total landbank of over 5,000 acres.

MK Land sells land in Sungai Buloh for RM130 mil
MK Land Holdings Bhd is selling two plots of leasehold land in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, to Foster Estate Sdn Bhd for RM130 million cash. It announced on Jan 3 that its subsidiary, Saujana Triangle Sdn Bhd, had entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Foster Estate on Dec 30, 2010, to dispose of 18.54 acres for RM100.78 million and another 8.32 acres for RM29.21 million. MK Land says it is disposing of the two plots to unlock their value as it has no plans to develop pockets of land.

Axis REIT to buy office building in Cyberjaya
Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (Axis REIT) has proposed to acquire a 4-storey office building from FBSM Holdings Bhd for RM51.25 million cash, it announced on Dec 30. It has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with FBSM to acquire the building on a freehold parcel measuring 89,760 sq ft in Cyberjaya. The building has a gross floor area of 218,662 sq ft, a net lettable area of 116,388 sq ft and an average occupancy rate of 71.6% as at Nov 30.

This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 840, Jan 10-16, 2011