PLUS Expressways Bhd, Malaysia's biggest toll-road operator, has received a RM23 billion ($7.5 billion) buyout offer for its assets and liabilities from the Employees Provident Fund and UEM Group Bhd.

Their cash offer values the company at RM4.60 per share, PLUS said in a statement to the stock exchange today. The nation's largest pension fund already owns 12.3 percent of PLUS, while UEM holds 38.5 percent. UEM's parent, state investment company Khazanah Nasional Bhd, has a 16.7 percent stake.

The duo will set up a joint investment vehicle for the acquisition, with UEM holding 51 percent. A takeover of PLUS, listed in July 2002, will give them full control of a company that owns and operates 973 kilometers of inter-urban toll expressways in Malaysia, stretching from the border of Thailand in the north to the border of Singapore.

This is 'an opportunity to acquire a mature, cashflow- generating asset with an attractive risk-return profile,' EPF Deputy Chief Executive Officer Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said in a joint statement. 'We believe that ownership by EPF and UEM will allow PLUS to improve its financial performance further.'

PLUS shares rose 4.5 percent to RM4.46 on Oct. 13 before they were halted a day later. They have surged 37 percent this year, outpacing the Kuala Lumpur benchmark stock index's 17 percent increase.

Special Dividend

The company would be delisted after the transaction is completed, with minority shareholders receiving a special dividend and capital repayment of RM1.25 billion, PLUS's statement said.

The highway operator will appoint relevant advisers and make an announcement once it decides on the offer, PLUS said.

The bid comes after MMC Corp, the flagship company of billionaire Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, said on Oct 4 it's forming a group that wants to buy Khazanah Nasional Bhd's UEM Group Bhd, which owns stakes in PLUS, hospital support-services provider Faber Group Bhd. and developer UEM Land Holdings Bhd.

Khazanah, Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund, is the biggest shareholder of PLUS with a 55.2 percent stake, partly held through UEM Group.

Bloomberg