KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 12): UEM Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) today said they currently have no intention of selling their respective stakes in highway operator PLUS Malaysia Bhd to Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd.
In a joint statement, the two entities said they had received a non-binding letter of intent from Evercore Asia Ltd on behalf of Maju Holdings, which indicated its intent to acquire the entire equity stake in PLUS.
The statement confirmed a report by The Edge Financial Daily today that a bid was made by Maju Holdings for their stakes in PLUS.
Quoting a Maju Holdings spokesman, the daily reported that Maju Holdings, which is controlled by businessman Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed, had submitted a formal bid via its financial advisers to UEM Group and EPF.
UEM Group has a 51% stake in PLUS, while EPF controls the remainder 49%.
"We are unable to comment further as we are in the midst of reviewing the letter of intent, and until we conclude the review process, our current stand remains that we have no intention of selling our respective stakes," UEM Group and EPF's joint statement today read.
PLUS has five concessions. They are: Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan Bhd which has under its umbrella the North-South Expressway, New Klang Valley Expressway, Federal Highway Route 2 and Seremban-Port Dickson Highway; Expressway Lingkaran Tengah Sdn Bhd which includes North-South Expressway Central Link; Linkedua (M) Bhd which owns the Malaysia-Singapore Second Crossing; the Konsortium Lebuhraya Butterworth-Kulim Sdn Bhd, also known as the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway; and Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd.
In the meantime, UEM Group said PLUS is one of its long-standing core business and that it will continue to ensure that PLUS provide its customers with good and beneficial services as well as safe highway infrastructure.
"PLUS is also one of the Employees Provident Fund's (EPF) core investments (49% stake) that fits well into the retirement fund's risk profile benefitting our 14 million members," the statement further read.