Report: IWH said to be eyeing merger with IJM Corp

KUALA LUMPUR (April 24): Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) “is said to be interested in a merger with IJM Corp Bhd,” The Edge Malaysia reported this week.

Sources close to IWH (63.13%-owned by tycoon Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo via his 97.98% stake in Credence Resources) told the weekly that company has “reached out” to IJM Corp with a preliminary proposal”.

“IWH has reached out to IJM Corp with a preliminary proposal for a three-way merger between both groups’ construction and property, plantation and highway divisions,” said one of the sources.

“For IWH, a merger with IJM Corp would be strategic for the future development of its ambitious Bandar Malaysia project, given the latter’s execution strength of large projects,” wrote The Edge.

“As for IJM, it would have a continuous flow of jobs from Bandar Malaysia if the merger happens. But any merger would need to involve Credence, which is Lim’s holding company. The valuation of IWH could be a sticky point,” said the source.

Meanwhile, other sources also told the business publication that “other companies that could be interested in IJM Corp include Sunway Bhd and Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB)”.

But a Sunway representative declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The Edge and a MRCB spokesperson denied that the company had any interest in IJM Corp “at this moment”.

IJM Corp had actually proposed to merge MRCB with its property arm IJM Land Bhd in 2010.

“It would have been a fairly large property player with a land bank of more than 9,000 acres. However, the proposed merger fell through after the parties failed to reach an agreement on the definitive terms and conditions of the proposed merger,” wrote the weekly.

As for Sunway, “a merger between IJM Corp and Sunway Construction Group Bhd would unlock synergies, given that both companies are formidable players in the construction industry”.

Read the full report in this week’s The Edge Malaysia

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