Sime Darby to sell entire stake in property firm to PNB for RM625m

PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Bhd is disposing of its entire 40% stake in property firm Seriemas Development Sdn Bhd to Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) for RM625 million.

The group told Bursa Malaysia that its wholly owned subsidiary Sime Darby Property Bhd had entered into a share sale agreement with PNB’s wholly owned subsidiary PNB Development Sdn Bhd for the disposal. Currently PNB holds the rest of Seriemas Development.

Sime Darby said the disposal is in line with its strategy to unlock value through monetisation and opportunistic divestment, while enabling the group to reduce its borrowings via the proceeds.

The group is expected to realise a gain on disposal of about RM305 million, against its original cost of investment of RM449 million. The consolidated earnings per share of Sime Darby is expected to increase by about 4.48 sen upon completion of the disposal.

Seriemas Development registered a net profit of RM40.2 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 with RM1.4 billion in net assets. It has 11 parcels of undeveloped land in Bangi, Selangor, which are in the midst of being disposed of, as well as three parcels of land with ongoing development.

SDSB also owns two malls in Kota Seriemas, Negri Sembilan, and two hotels in Morib, Selangor.

Sime Darby shares fell seven sen to close at RM9.38 yesterday on 6.8 million traded,giving it a market capitalisation of RM63.79 billion.