DRB-HICOM wins Pos stake

Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhary's DRB-HICOM Bhd has won a bid to take over national postal company Pos Malaysia Bhd, people familiar with the matter said yesterday. 
 
Business Times understands that DRB-HICOM will sign an agreement with Khazanah Nasional Bhd early next week to buy the latter's Pos Malaysia stake.

DRB-HICOM sees Pos Malaysia as a crucial fit to expand its Islamic banking operation, now parked under Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd.

Khazanah, the government investment arm, currently holds 30 per cent of Bank Muamalat, while the remaining 70 per cent is owned by DRB-HICOM.

It is understood that DRB-HICOM is buying Pos Malaysia from Khazanah for about RM3.60 a share. The latter currently owns 32.21 per cent of Pos Malaysia.
The deal will value Khazanah's Pos Malaysia stake at about RM623 million.

Last year, Khazanah had called an open bidding process for suitors of Pos Malaysia.

About a week ago, two companies - DRB-HICOM and Scomi Group Bhd - were shortlisted by the Khazanah board.

It is understood that the DRB-HICOM bid was the most attractive option for Pos Malaysia because of the conglomerate's plan to eventually inject Bank Muamalat, the country's second full-fledged Islamic bank, into it.

This, in turn, will provide Bank Muamalat with a much wider network nationwide.

There are currently some 692 post offices and 355 mini post offices, according to Pos Malaysia's website.

Bank Muamalat, meanwhile, has 46 branches.

For the 15 months ended March 31 2010, Bank Muamalat posted a pre-tax profit of RM142 million versus RM44.1 million in the corresponding period in 2008,

Its total assets rose to RM16.7 billion from RM14.4 billion previously.

Bank Muamalat's 2010 financial year tracked 15 months instead of 12 months because it was changing its year-end to March 31 from December 31 to coincide with its parent's financial year. - By Francis Fernandez of btimes.com.my