Pension funds butt heads in $7.4 billion takeover battle for Malaysian highway operator PLUS
Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has teamed with local infrastructure firm United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (UEM) Group - a fully owned subsidy of SWF Khazanah Nasional - to launch a MYR23 billion ($7.4 billion) takeover bid for Malaysian highway operator PLUS Expressways – an offer which key PLUS backer, Malaysian pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), has deemed unsatisfactory.
According to reports, KWAP insiders have said that the group is "not happy" with the consortium's price, potentially opening the door to alternative suitors. KWAP specifically owns a 5.22% stake in PLUS, which it acquired in September of last year for an unknown price. That transaction then prompted PLUS' shares to trade at a 12-month high at MYR3.38 ($1.08). Inversely, EPF and UEM's bid values the company at MYR4.60 ($1.48) a share. On the same date as KWAP's stake purchase last year, Khazanah reduced its direct stake in PLUS to 20.41% from 23.65%, though it still held an indirect 40.21% stake in PLUS through UEM Group.
Malaysian reports further speculate that local conglomerate Asas Serba, which notoriously made a $16.2 billion bid to acquire all of the country's highway concessions last year, could submit a competing offer for PLUS. The news comes weeks after the Malaysian government reportedly received five proposals for suitors looking to acquire UEM Group, including one from investment holding firm MMC Corp.
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