PLUS shareholder ‘not happy’ with EPF bid

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — A major shareholder of highway operator PLUS Expressways is “not happy” with EPF-UEM Group’s takeover price for the firm, and may consider other bids, two sources told Reuters.

Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), the civil servants’ pension fund which owns a 5.22 per cent stake in PLUS, believes PLUS deserves a better price, said the sources who have direct knowledge of the matter.

“They’re definitely not happy and think they can do better,” one of the sources said.

KWAP declined to comment.

A joint venture between the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and UEM Group has offered to take over PLUS in a RM23 billion deal that values PLUS at RM4.60 per share.

UEM Group is itself the subject of a takeover bid by Malaysian power-to-construction conglomerate MMC Corp.

Local daily The Malaysian Reserve reported earlier this week that another company, Asas Serba, which is owned by a group of businessmen, would be putting in a competing bid for PLUS Expressways.

Asas Serba offered last year to take over all Malaysian highway concessions for RM50 billion. Spokesperson Syed Mohd Amin Aljeffri could not be reached for comment. — Reuters