KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): TH Plantations Bhd said Tamaco Plantation Sdn Bhd has withdrawn its lawsuit against the group over its decision not to proceed with the proposed disposal of two plantation units for RM170 million.

In a bourse filing, TH Plantations said Sabah-based Tamaco on Dec 10 withdrew the suit to compel TH Plantation to complete the sale of Bumi Suria Ventures Sdn Bhd and Maju Warisanmas Sdn Bhd, which was proposed in December 2019.

On Dec 14, Tamaco also withdrew its judicial review application to quash the decision of the Economic Planning Unit to withdraw its approval of the proposed transaction, TH Plantations said.

Both withdrawals were made without liberty to file afresh, said the plantation arm of Lembaga Tabung Haji.

“Following thereto, the company is pleased to announce that the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) dated Dec 5, 2019 entered between TH Plantations and Tamaco is terminated and that there shall be no further claims against each other in relation to or arising from or in connection with the SPA,” it added.

The proposed sale of Bumi Suria Ventures and its subsidiary Maju Warisanmas entered the spotlight in July 2020, when the new Perikatan Nasional government put the transaction under review.

Government MPs at the time questioned the proposed transaction price, which was lower than the market valuation by independent valuers.

The EPU withdrew its approval for the transaction on Dec 4, 2020, 10 days after the initial approval was given.

The two target companies collectively own 6,513ha of oil palm plantations in Bintulu and Sibu, Sarawak. TH Plantations acquired the two companies in 2012 for RM212.5 million and RM42.08 million respectively. In 2018, Bumi Suria Ventures booked an impairment of RM244.07 million.

Shares of TH Plantations fell 1.5 sen or 2.52% to close at 58 sen on Wednesday (Dec 15), giving the group a market capitalisation of RM512.63 million.