The Employees' Provident Fund Board (EPF) and UEM Group Bhd joint offer of RM23 billion or RM4.60 sen per share for the assets of Plus Expressways Bhd is a fair exit price for the shareholders of the toll operator, according to a research house.

AmResearch Sdn Bhd said the offer was less than three per cent below its fair value of RM4.72 sen per share and at the high-end of the consensus fair value of RM3.90 per share and RM5.15 sen per share.

'Moreover, Plus's last traded price of RM4.46 per share is the stock's all-time closing high,' it said, adding that it was not surprised by the latest development as the joint offer by both companies came on the heels of earlier bids by MMC Corporation Bhd and privately-held Asas Serba Sdn Bhd.

'It also comes right after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the 2011 Budget that toll on highways under Plus would not be raised for the next five years.

'We recommend investors of Plus to accept the deal,' AmResearch said in a research note today.

Khazanah (55.2 per cent) and the EPF (12.3 per cent) are Plus's top two shareholders.

Khazanah owns a direct 16.7 per cent stake in Plus with the balance of 38.5 per cent held indirectly via UEM. -- Bernama