KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 14): Boustead Plantations Bhd's (BPlant) share price rose a sen or 0.65% to RM1.54 on Tuesday after Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) issued an unconditional mandatory takeover offer notice last Friday (Nov 10) to acquire the remaining shares it does not own in BPlant for a cash price of RM1.55 per share.
At the time of writing some 17.64 million shares had changed hands.
BPlant’s share price has gained more than 140% from a low of 64 sen in June this year.
The counter has more than doubled within the past four months and is 20.31% higher than its net assets per share of RM1.28 as at June 30, 2023.
At current price, the planter has a market capitalisation of RM3.45 billion and trades at a price-earnings ratio of 39.64 times.
Last Friday, LTAT issued an unconditional mandatory takeover offer notice for the remaining shares it does not own in BPlant following the signing of an agreement with Boustead Holdings Bhd to acquire 739.2 million shares or a 33% stake in the company.
Even prior to LTAT's offer, BPlant's share price had shot up following a proposed RM1.15 billion takeover deal by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) in August which was terminated last month when Putrajaya decided to keep the government-linked company within its purview and maintain Bumiputera interests.
Boustead holds a 57.42% stake in BPlant, while LTAT holds 10.59%. Upon the completion of the shares acquisition, LTAT’s shareholding in BPlant will increase to 976.41 million shares, representing a 43.59% stake.
In July, five bidders, including KLK, IOI Corp Bhd, YTL group, Tradewinds Corp, and the Samling group, expressed interest in acquiring a controlling block of BPlant shares from LTAT and Boustead.
BPlant owns 42 operating oil palm estates, including 16 estates in Peninsular Malaysia, as well as 26 in Sabah and Sarawak, and 10 palm oil mills, comprising three mills in Peninsular Malaysia, five in Sabah and two in Sarawak.
According to BPlant’s latest annual report, 72,300ha of the group’s landbank is utilised for oil palm cultivation, representing 74% of its total landbank of 97,400ha. This consists of 23,300ha in Peninsular Malaysia, 38,700ha in Sabah and 10,300ha in Sarawak.
As at end-June, the group had short term borrowings of RM511.9 million and long-term borrowings of RM328.26 million. Cash and bank balances stood at RM96.08 million.