Scientex nixes second attempt to buy Johor land from S P Setia at higher price of RM548 mil

• On Friday, Scientex and S P Setia said in a Bursa filings that the deal to purchase the freehold 960-acre land in Tebrau was terminated due to non-fulfilment of the conditions precedent within the extended completion period.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): Scientex Bhd’s second attempt to buy prime land in Johor Baru from S P Setia Bhd, this time for RM548 million, has fallen through again.

Scientex first attempted to acquire the Johor land in 2021 for RM518.1 million. However, the deal fell through in March 2023, after it failed to obtain a waiver of the Bumiputera equity condition imposed by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

In July 2023, both parties revisited the deal, with a new price tag of RM547.65 million.

On Friday, Scientex and S P Setia said in a Bursa filings that the deal to purchase the freehold 960-acre land in Tebrau was terminated due to non-fulfilment of the conditions precedent within the extended completion period.

According to S P Setia, the disposal was terminated as Scientex’s unit Scientex Lestari Sdn Bhd was unable to obtain the EPU’s approval for the acquisition.

Scientex said S P Setia will be refunding the deposit paid, along with the interest accrued, as per the terms of the sale and purchase agreement (SPA).

“Thereafter, the SPA shall lapse and be of no further effect and the parties shall be released from all further obligations under the SPA, save and except for any antecedent breaches,” Scientex added.

Nonetheless, Scientex said the termination of the proposed acquisition does not have any material financial impact on the company.

Scientex’s share price closed up four sen or 1.02% to RM3.97 on Friday, bringing it a market capitalisation of RM6.16 billion.

S P Setia’s share price settled at 95 sen, after it went up two sen or 2.15%. At 95 sen, the stock is valued at RM4.14 billion.

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