KUALA LUMPUR (April 24): MMAG Holdings Bhd (KL:MMAG) said its deal to acquire a Boeing 737-800 converted freighter has been called off, due to financing issues.
The deal, valued at US$25.9 million (RM109.85 million), was mutually terminated with GASL Ireland Leasing A-1 Ltd, part of Ireland-based Genesis Aircraft Services Ltd, said MMAG in a bourse filing on Friday.
The lease agreement on the cargo aircraft, signed in April 2022, was also mutually terminated, said the logistics service provider.
The US$5.35 million deposit under the proposed acquisition and US$770,000 deposit under the lease agreement will go towards settling outstanding lease payments, agreed losses and costs linked to redelivery of the aircraft — estimated at a total of US$5.45.
The deal was entered into in July last year and was intended to reduce MMAG's dependence on third-party lessors and enhance fleet management flexibility. Shareholders’ nod was secured in October that same year.
However, MMAG noted that following the approval, its management underwent changes and the group undertook a review of its aviation business strategy
“[It] has since shifted from a narrowbody-only freighter strategy to a more diversified fleet mix comprising both narrowbody and widebody freighters, in order to better align with evolving market demand, improve operational flexibility and enhance long-term yield optimisation,” it noted.
Victor Chin Boon Long, who joined MMAG’s board as executive director in January 2024, resigned in November 2025.
Meanwhile, former largest shareholder Datuk Seri Farhash Wafa Salvador exited the company in end-December, disposing of his entire 19.9% stake. He subsequently stepped down as non-executive chairman on Jan 2 this year.
Farhash emerged with the major stake in March 2025. He was appointed chairman following the stake purchase.
Aside from the management and shareholding changes, MMAG has been in the limelight due to its frozen bank accounts, substantial shareholder NexG Bhd (KL:NEXG), as well as the ongoing probe into the so-called "corporate mafia".
MMAG, in March this year and subsequent to a public statement from Chin, disclosed that its bank accounts had been frozen since late 2025.
NexG, which owns a 9.525% stake in MMAG, was previously in the news due to a boardroom tussle between its founder and a group of now former directors.
Shares in MMAG ended unchanged at three sen, valuing the group at RM69.64 million.