PETALING JAYA: Low-profile tycoon Tan Sri Robert Tan Hua Choon is proposing a series of deals involving two of his listed companies, namely ceramic and sanitary ware manufacturer Goh Ban Huat Bhd (GBH) and property developer Keladi Maju Bhd. Both counters were suspended from trading pending announcements.
Sources said that Tan planned to sell land belonging to GBH to Keladi Maju, which has a cash hoard of RM150mil and was focusing on property development. GBH in turn will use the cash proceeds as well as its shares to acquire oil and gas services companies in an exercise that could entail a reverse takeover of GBH.
The sources said that GBH was looking to buy a 35% stake in an oil and gas company providing offshore oilfield services.
Accompanying that move, sources said GBH would also be acquiring a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
“Later on, GBH intends to buy out one of its partners through cash and issuance of shares for more than RM600mil,” the source said.
The party to be bought out, the source noted, was in the oil and gas scene.
“Ultimately, there is a plan for a reverse takeover of GBH,” the source said.
Yesterday, 10% of GBH shares changed hands in an off-market deal.
The share price went up some 24 sen, hitting RM2 before the counter was suspended at 2.30pm.
Both GBH and Keladi Maju will be suspended until 5pm today.
GBH’s share price has overall moved upwards over the past month from RM1.80 on May 30. It fell to RM1.76 on June 30 but quickly rebounded this week.
Keladi Maju has been trading between 32 sen and 33.5 sen in the past month.
On the possibility of GBH injecting land into Keladi Maju, sources reckon it could entail GBH’s 14-acre land in Jalan Ipoh, which carries a market value of around RM200mil.
Tan has been in the news recently for his efforts to unlock value in his listed companies.
In April, Tan sold his direct 19% holdings in loss-making shipping company PDZ Holdings Bhd to state-owned Pelaburan Mara Bhd (PMB).
The plan is to see it becoming an oil and gas services firm as well and PDZ has so far proposed to buy 20% in a company called Efogen Sdn Bhd for RM18mil.
Efogen is primarily in the chartering of offshore support vessels for the oil and gas industry.
Surprisingly, after the suspension announcement, GBH said on Bursa Malaysia that it had acquired the entire issued and paid-up share capital of a shelf private limited company, Ekspresi Tepat Sdn Bhd, incorporated in Malaysia, for a total cash consideration of RM2. It isn’t clear how this announcement is related to its oil and gas plans.
GBH had indicated earlier this year its intention to venture into property development within the next three to five years. It has 5.92ha of prime land in Jalan Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, where its manufacturing plant is built.
Another of Tan’s companies, Malaysia Aica Bhd, also made news this year, having been taken over by Datuk Ter Leong Yap of property development company Sunsuria Development Bhd.
~ By THE STAR
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