KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 13): Shares in Unisem (M) Bhd rose 4.38% in active trade this morning after it received a pre-conditional voluntary conditional takeover offer from joint offerors, comprising  executive chairman and managing director John Chia Sin Tet as well as China’s Tianshui Huatian Technology Co Ltd (TSHT).

At 9.01am, Unisem rose 13 sen to RM3.10 with 1.11 million shares done.

The pre-conditional offer is being made at RM3.30 per share, with a total outlay of RM1.82 billion for the exercise, the semiconductor manufacturer said.

"Upon completion of the offer, HT Malaysia will be the single largest shareholder of Unisem. The Malaysian offerors will not acquire any offer shares," it said.

The bid is being made by Huatian Electronics Group (HK) Ltd and Huatian Technology (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd on behalf of TSHT, as well as John Chia, his son Alexander Chia Jhet-Wern, and John Chia’s private vehicles, Jayvest Holdings Sdn Bhd and SCQ Industries Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile, CIMB IB Research maintained its “Add” rating on Unisem at RM2.97 with a higher target price of RM3.50 (from RM2.80).

“Unisem could benefit from having a strong local partner in China and spillover from Chinese manufacturers diversification strategy amidst a protective tariff environment.

“Maintain Add rating with a higher RM3.50 target price as we roll over valuation to end-FY19F,” it said in a note today.