This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 26, 2026 - November 1, 2026

Nearly two months after Yinson Holdings Bhd’s (KL:YINSON) largest shareholder, the Lim family (27.7%), and MISC Bhd (KL:MISC) confirmed preliminary talks with another shareholder Employees Provident Fund (17.09%) to take the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) company private, a firm intention has yet to be announced.

Yinson and MISC disclosed an indicative price of RM2.35 per share on Aug 28. Both companies said on Sept 25 that talks were ongoing and “the indicative offer price remains at RM2.35 per share”.

On Oct 20, they announced that the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) had extended the deadline for the parties to declare their firm intention until Nov 30. Under the SC’s takeover rules, preliminary announcements require monthly updates and a firm intention within two months, unless an extension is granted.

Yinson’s management has previously spoken about accelerating return on equity and its view that the market undervalues the group, prompting it to explore options including a spin-off, overseas listing and asset sell-downs.

This is Yinson’s second brush with privatisation speculation. In June 2025, the Lim family was said to be in exclusive talks with Stonepeak Partners over a buyout, but the proposal was abandoned in May this year. Yinson’s shares subsequently fell to as low as RM1.71 in the following months.

MISC, too, has recently abandoned a major corporate exercise involving an FPSO operator. In August 2025, the Petroliam Nsional Bhd-controlled group called off the proposed merger of its FPSO business with Bumi Armada Bhd (KL:ARMADA) after nearly nine months of discussions, saying the deal would not fully achieve its intended strategic objectives.

While extensions are not unusual, the latest delay raises a familiar question: are valuation, funding or differing strategic objectives still hurdles? The request for extension brings back questions on why previous proposals fell through, and whether the same matter could again influence whether the deal will go through this time around.

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