KUALA LUMPUR (April 9): Shares of Berjaya Food surged on Tuesday to its highest in nearly four months, following a news report that tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan is considering taking the company private. 

Berjaya Food rose as much as 6.5% or four sen to 66 sen in the afternoon trading session, its highest since Dec 14, 2023. The stock was trading at 65.5 sen at 2.45pm, after more than 10 million shares exchanged hands - the highest volume since Feb 23.
 
Tan is in talks with banks about financing for a potential deal, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday afternoon, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. “Deliberations are preliminary and Tan could still decide against pursuing a go-private deal for Berjaya Food,” Bloomberg noted.

Berjaya Food, which operates the Starbucks coffee franchise in Malaysia, has lost some 25% of its market value since Israel ramped up its deadly strikes in Palestine following the Hamas attack on Oct 7 last year.

Starbucks, along with a few other global brands such as fast food chain McDonald’s, has been facing intense boycotts due to their support or perceived link to Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. 

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/707514