KUALA LUMPUR (July 24): Property developer UEM Sunrise Bhd's (KL:UEMS) disposal of its 80.4% stake in South Africa’s Roc-Union Proprietary Ltd has fallen through again as the buyer Azishe Properties Proprietary Ltd failed to fulfil its payment obligations within the stipulated time frame, according to its filing with Bursa Malaysia.

This is the second attempt by UEM Sunrise to sell its stake in Roc-Union.

To recap, UEM Sunrise South Africa had entered into a sale of shares and claims of total shareholder advance worth 18.4 million rand (RM29.5 million) with Azishe for the proposed divestment in August 2023.

The total shareholder advances were given by UEM Sunrise South Africa Proprietary Ltd, which is wholly-owned by UEM Sunrise Overseas Corp Sdn Bhd (UEMSOC), to Roc-Union.

The 80.4% stake in Roc-Union Proprietary Ltd is held by UEM Sunrise’s indirect wholly owned subsidiary, UEM Sunrise South Africa.

“The company wishes to announce that the seller [UEM Sunrise South Africa] has exercised its rights under the sale agreements to cancel the sale agreements effective immediately and discontinue the proposed divestment, as the purchaser [Azishe] has failed to honour its obligations to make payment in accordance with the payment plan stipulated under the sale agreements, which constitutes a breach of the sale agreements,” UEM Sunrise said.

In the previous filing, UEM Sunrise said the proposed divestment aligned with its strategic turnaround plan, allowing it to realign its operations geographically and redirect resources to businesses and areas with greater potential.

Under the agreement, Azishe was required to pay 10% of the purchase consideration, amounting to 11.8 million rand (RM2.9 million) by way of a non-refundable deposit to the attorneys representing UEM Sunrise South Africa Proprietary within five business days from the date of the sale of shares and claims agreement (Aug 28, 2023).

The remaining 90%, or 106.6 million rand (RM26.6 million), was to be paid via bank guarantee within 60 business days from the signing date.

In a filing dated March 12, UEM Sunrise said that it had mutually agreed to extend the deadline for the total payment of the balance purchase consideration to Dec 31, 2024.

Shares in UEM Sunrise dropped three sen to RM1.18 on Wednesday, valuing the company at RM5.97 billion.