[mr] Malaysia's Malakoff accepts $2 bln buyout bid

Malaysia's Malakoff accepts $2 bln buyout bid

May 30, 2006

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's largest independent power producer,
Malakoff, gave in-principle approval on Tuesday to a $2 billion cash buyout
offer from Malaysian engineering firm MMC Corp Bhd.

Malakoff said its board had endorsed the deal, Malaysia's biggest takeover, but
noted that many regulatory and shareholders approvals were still needed for the
complex transaction.

MMC, which already owns 22 percent of Malakoff, announced the bid this month,
saying it wanted to consolidate Malakoff profits, which already account for more
than 41 percent of MMC pretax profit.

Both MMC and Malakoff want to expand in the Middle East.

MMC is bidding 10.35 ringgit a share in cash -- a more than 6 percent premium to
Tuesday's closing share price of 9.70 ringgit.

Under the deal, MMC is forming a special-purpose vehicle to raise funds to
finance a bid for all the non-cash assets of Malakoff. After the sale, the
utility would then effectively become a dormant company stuffed with cash.

The last leg of the deal would be to dissolve Malakoff and return the cash to
shareholders at 10.35 ringgit per share.

Local analysts have said MMC's offer price is fair, and expect Malakoff
shareholders to approve the deal.

Apart from MMC, Malakoff's major shareholders include Britain's International
Power Plc, with 18 percent.

Malakoff's biggest client is state-controlled utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd, which
produces two-thirds of peninsula Malaysia's power needs and has a distribution
monopoly.
http://www.ndtvprofit.com/homepage/news.asp?id=251983
=========================DISCLAIMER==========================
This article is copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
=========================end, and/or end quote================
-pluto
.