KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): The Securities Commission Malaysia has extended the deadline to Nov 30 for major shareholders MISC Bhd (KL:MISC) and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to announce whether they intend to take Yinson Holdings Bhd (KL:YINSON) private.
The extension, approved by the SC in a letter dated Oct 19, will allow Yinson Legacy Sdn Bhd (YLSB) — an investment vehicle linked to Yinson executive chairman Lim Han Weng and his family — MISC and EPF to continue evaluating and discussing the exercise that will be undertaken through a scheme of arrangement.
According to Yinson and MISC’s bourse filings, the proposed exercise remains subject to further evaluation and negotiations, the execution of definitive agreements, determination of the final offer price and other requisite approvals and conditions. There is no assurance that the discussions will result in the implementation of the proposed scheme, they added.
The companies said they would make further announcements if there were any material developments and advised shareholders to exercise caution when dealing in their shares.
In August, Yinson received a letter from YLSB, owned by executive chairman Lim Han Weng and his family, confirming discussions with MISC and EPF to take Yinson private.
If the deal goes ahead, MISC and YLSB will acquire the remaining 55.2% of Yinson shares through a court-approved arrangement. EPF will keep its existing effective stake in the company.
Lim and his family have a combined 27.68% stake in Yinson while the EPF owns 17.09%. Another substantial shareholder is Retirement Fund Inc, the pension fund for civil servants better known as KWAP, holding 6.84% of Yinson.
Yinson operates a fleet of eight floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, alongside other assets across Southeast Asia, South America and Africa. MISC, which is 51%-owned by national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS), operates six FPSOs and six other vessels in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Brazil.
Yinson shares closed one sen or 0.47% lower at RM2.12 on Tuesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM6.82 billion. MISC rose six sen or 0.72% to RM8.41, valuing the group at RM37.54 billion.