KUALA LUMPUR: Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) has entered into a strategic partnership with Arcadia Acres Sdn Bhd to increase the value of its investment in Theta Edge Bhd.
Arcadia Acres is a major shareholder of Dagang NeXchange Bhd, an IT and energy service provider.
TH said Arcadia, which has a strong track record in the information technology industry, would acquire a 30.3 per cent stake in Theta.
This will make Arcadia the second largest shareholder of the company, which is mainly involved in IT systems integration and telecommunication engineering services.
TH will continue to be the single largest shareholder of Theta with a 38.4 per cent stake.
TH said the partnership was expected to strengthen Theta's financial performance as well as market position via new business collaboration, revenue enhancement and a stronger footing in the IT industry.
"This will ultimately enhance the value of TH's investment, a win-win situation for both TH and Theta," the fund said in a statement.
TH said following an independent business review process, it was advised to seek a strategic partner in the business and a restricted tender exercise was carried out in 2019.
TH had received interest from several parties and subsequently secured all approvals for the transaction involving Arcadia at the end of 2020.
TH group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Nik Mohd Hasyudeen Yusoff said the commercialisation of digital transformation ideas had always been the group focus and Theta was at the forefront in capitalising the effort.
Nik Mohd said the current pandemic had accelerated the process of digitalisation and Theta was well positioned to capture this opportunity with the expertise of Arcadia.
"TH is excited about growing Theta into a global Bumiputera IT company in partnership with an entrepreneur like Arcadia while continuing its role as a financial investor to strengthen governance and sustainable business practices while at the same time promoting the development of successful Bumiputera entrepreneurs," he added.