KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 6): Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) is buying Quill Resources Holding Sdn Bhd (QRH)’s 39% stake in Sentral REIT’s manager Sentral REIT Management Sdn Bhd (SRM), according to Sentral REIT’s Bursa Malaysia filing on Thursday (Oct 6).

“SRM, the manager of Sentral REIT, wishes to announce that the existing shareholders of SRM, namely QRH and MRCB, had on 4 October 2022 entered into a share sale agreement, whereby QRH has agreed to dispose their shareholding of 39% (390,000 ordinary shares) in the capital of SRM to MRCB.

“Pursuant to Chapter 4.02(8) of the licensing handbook, Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), the proposed change in shareholding structure in SRM will be subject to the approval of the SC,” Sentral REIT said.

Sentral REIT, however, did not specify how much builder and property developer MRCB will pay for QRH's 39% stake in SRM.

According to Sentral REIT's website, SRM shareholders comprise MRCB, QRH and Global Jejaka Sdn Bhd. MRCB holds shareholdings of 41%, followed by QRH at 39% and Global Jejaka at 20%.

MRCB's annual report indicates that MRCB is a 36.21%-owned associate of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

According to Sentral REIT's website, Sentral REIT owns and invests in quality income-producing commercial real estate assets primarily used for retail and office operations.

"It (Sentral REIT) has a portfolio of nine properties that are located in the Klang Valley, Cyberjaya and Penang," Sentral REIT said.

The nine properties comprise four assets each in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor's Cyberjaya enclave besides one in Penang, according to Sentral REIT.

Sentral REIT's Kuala Lumpur properties include Menara Shell along Jalan Tun Sambanthan while its Cyberjaya properties include Quill Building 3 – BMW along Jalan Teknokrat 5, according to the property trust.

In Penang, Sentral REIT is the owner of the Lotuss Building, which was formerly known as TESCO Building, along Lebuh Tengku Kudin 1, according to Sentral REIT.

According to Sentral REIT, the combined appraised value of its nine properties stood at RM2.08 billion.

On Bursa, Sentral REIT's unit price closed up 0.5 sen or 0.58% at 86.5 sen for a market capitalisation of about RM925.55 million based on the group's 1.07 billion outstanding units.

Sentral REIT's latest-reported net assets per share stood at RM1.192, according to its Bursa filing on Aug 19, 2022.

According to Sentral REIT's latest annual report, MRCB owned a 27.83% stake in the property trust as at Feb 3, 2022, while EPF had an 11.98% stake.

MRCB's share price closed up one sen or 3.23% at 32 sen, which values the group at about RM1.43 billion based on its 4.47 billion outstanding shares.