KUALA LUMPUR: Kulim (Malaysia) Bhd will return to its shareholders RM1 billion, or 78 sen per share, from the sale of its 48.97 per cent stake in New Britain Palm Oil Ltd (NBPOL) to Sime Darby Bhd for £525.4 million (RM2.75 billion).
The RM1 billion will be paid back over two years after the disposal, it added.
The disposal represents a massive net gain of RM1.56 billion for Kulim, the company said in a statement yesterday.
Kulim bought 96 million NBPOL shares in 1996 for only RM282.71 million.
It will use RM600 million from the sale proceeds to repay bank borrowings within the next six months, which will reduce its gearing to 0.21 times from 0.4 times. Another RM300 million will be used for general working capital in the next 12 months.
It will also set aside RM850 million for investments or acquisitions of viable assets and businesses in the next two years.
Specifically, Kulim intends to part-finance itsoil palm plantation and venture in the oil and gas sector in Indonesia.
According to the statement, Kulim received a formal offer document from Sime Darby yesterday to buy its NBPOL stake at £7.15 per share.
The offer is an 85 per cent premium to NBPOL’s last closing price of £3.87 on the London Stock Exchange on October 8.
Kulim’s board of director had on October 9 expressed interest in accepting Sime Darby’s offer if there were no other superior bids.
The company will now put the proposed disposal to its shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting at a later date.