Toll operator, PLUS Expressways Bhd's shares on Bursa Malaysia took a dip after trading resumed today.

It closed 12 sen lower at RM4.34.

PLUS had opened two sen higher at RM4.48. It touched a low of RM4.33 in trading today.

The shares were suspended for two days from Thursday last week for the much-anticipated plan to privatise PLUS Expressways Bhd.

Late Friday, Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) made a cash offer for the assets and liabilities of the highway concessionaire at RM23 billion or RM4.60 per share of the latter.

Using a co-investment vehicle in which Khazanah's wholly-owned unit, UEM Group, would own 51 per cent and the rest by EPF, the offer is subject to a successful restructuring of the concession agreement on acceptable terms.

The proposed deal is said to be the largest merger and acquisition in Malaysia so far and is tied to the announcement in the Budget 2011 on Friday, that there would be no rise in toll rates for PLUS-owned highways for the next five years with immediate effect.

OSK Research in its note today, stated that the offer price of RM4.60 only represents a small 3.1 per cent premium to the last traded price of RM4.46.

Furthermore, the offer price is at a five per cent discount to its base target price of RM4.84.

'As such, in our view, the offer price could be better. Given the defensive nature of PLUS coupled with its decent and consistent dividends, the offer price would appear to under value PLUS,' it explained.

OSK Research also believes that an offer, with a 'controlling premium', above its target price, in the range of RM4.80-RM5.00 would be better received by shareholders. -- Bernama