KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 31): Shares of UMW Holdings Bhd will be suspended by Bursa Securities on Feb 9, 2024, following the expiry of five market days from the extended closing date of the takeover offer by Sime Darby Bhd.
Sime Darby previously extended the closing date for its RM5 per share offer to take UMW private to Jan 31, about two weeks later than the original deadline of Jan 17.
As at Jan 31, Sime Darby already held 98.86% of the total shares in UMW, according to a statement by CIMB Investment Bank Bhd on Wednesday, on behalf of Sime Darby.
To complete the takeover, CIMB said Sime Darby will invoke the provisions of Subsection 222(1) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA) to compulsorily acquire any remaining UMW shares from the dissenting shareholders.
"Accordingly, the offeror (Sime Darby) will issue a compulsory acquisition notice under Subsection 222(1) of the CMSA, which will be sent to all dissenting shareholders, within two months from Jan 15, 2024," it said.
In August 2023, Sime Darby announced that it was acquiring a 61.18% equity interest in UMW from its parent company Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) for RM3.57 billion or RM5 per share, followed by a mandatory general offer to buy the remaining 38.82% stake at about RM2.27 billion and take UMW private.
With the acquisition, Sime Darby, which is known for its luxury marques such as BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover and Porsche, will be adding mass market brands under UMW, such as Toyota, Lexus and Perodua to its stable, creating a behemoth industrial and motor group.
At Wednesday's market close, Sime Darby shares were down one sen or 0.41% to RM2.43 for a market capitalisation of RM16.56 billion.