Puncak Niaga gets nod to buy TRIplc for RM210mil cash
PETALING JAYA: Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd has received the Securities Commission’s (SC) nod to acquire TRIplc Group for RM210mil cash.
The water concessionaire is buying the entire issued share capital in TRIplc from Pimpinan Ehsan Bhd to enhance its construction revenue and long-term growth prospects.
Puncak Niaga, which has a market value of RM339.9mil, told Bursa Malaysia that TRIplc must meet the profit requirements of the SC’s equity guidelines of having an audited after-tax profit of at least RM6mil for the financial year ended May 31, 2017, prior to commencement of the acquisition.
The corporate exercise will also entail TRIplc undertaking an internal reorganisation, which involves a proposed share exchange with Pimpinan Ehsan of new ordinary shares of RM1 each on the basis of one-to-one, in line with the proposal.
It will also involve a proposed transfer of TRIplc’s listing status on Bursa Malaysia to Pimpinan Ehsan.
Puncak Niaga had been exploring opportunities to increase income stream and minimise dependency on its existing water, wastewater-related as well as oil and gas businesses.
As for TRIplc, it had earlier stated that the proposed disposal was timely as it provided an opportunity to unlock the share value of the company.
The disposal consideration was RM3.04 per TRIplc share at a premium of 118.71% over RM1.39, being the last traded price of TRIplc shares on the last trading day.
Puncak Niaga’s shares closed up 5 sen or 6.29% at 76 sen yesterday, with about 4.06 million shares traded.