RM26b bid for PLUS

The offer by Jelas Ulung, rumoured to be backed by Tan Sri Halim Saad, trumps a RM23 billion joint bid by UEM Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund


Little-known Jelas Ulung Sdn Bhd has made a late RM26 billion offer to buy PLUS Expressways Bhd, just three days before the highway group's shareholders were due to vote on an existing bid.

The offer by Jelas Ulung, rumoured to be backed by Tan Sri Halim Saad, trumps a RM23 billion joint bid by UEM Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund.

Halim could not be reached for comment but people close to him say he is not behind this bid. Jelas Ulung director Tan Sri Ibrahim Mohd Zain, a former banker, declined to say who the shareholders of the company are.

It is unclear if the shareholders' meeting scheduled for Thursday will take place or if PLUS directors will present the new offer to its shareholders.

"The board will deliberate on the terms of the offer and decide on the next course of action," PLUS said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

But Jelas Ulung reminded PLUS directors of their fiduciary duty in its offer letter and strongly urged them to table the bid at a shareholders' meeting.

A check with the Companies Commission of Malaysia showed that Jelas Ulung is a new RM2 company registered last month. Its shareholders are Saharuddin Abdullah and Sumami Kiman owning one share each in the company.

Jelas Ulung directors are Ibrahim and lawyer Datuk Ghazali Mat Ariff.

Ibrahim said Jelas Ulung has secured a RM33 billion funding from BOCI Asia Ltd which is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Bank of China Ltd.

"BOCI will lend RM33 billion and we will raise another RM5 billion by issuing new Jelas Ulung shares to institutions, the private sector and individuals.

"Out of the RM33 billion, RM26 billion or RM5.20 a share will be used to buy PLUS and the remaining RM12 billion to pay off PLUS debts.

"There will be no management change because the current team is already doing a good job. We are not like the American style which buys companies and then throw people out," Ibrahim told Business Times in a phone interview yesterday.

Shares of PLUS closed unchanged at RM4.36 yesterday. Jelas Ulung's offer values PLUS at RM5.20 a share as against the UEM-EPF bid of RM4.60 a share.

Ibrahim is now Tamadam Bonded Warehouse Bhd and AMMB Holdings Bhd director and past chairman of Bank Rakyat.

Ghazali sits on the board of Eden Inc Bhd, a diversified group with interests in the power generation and food business, among others.

In May, Asas Serba Sdn Bhd, believed to be the brainchild of Halim, made a RM50 billion offer to the government to take over 23 tolled roads and highways in the country.

But Asas has yet to present its offer to the board of PLUS.

Asas chairman Datuk Syed Md Amin Aljeffri told Business Times yesterday that the firm plans to make a new bid but declined to elaborate.

So far, Jelas Ulung's offer would be the highest but it remains to be seen if it can win because UEM and EPF hold 67.5 per cent of PLUS. This means the two major shareholders could vote against other bids.

The Jelas Ulung offer closes at 5pm on March 18, 2011.