SIME Darby Bhd’s (SDB) shares on Bursa Malaysia went up in the early session today following news that it is divesting its entire 30% stake in Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd for RM300 mil, in line with its ongoing non-core asset rationalisation exercise.
As at 11.15am, the main market counter rose seven sen to RM1.93 with 5.84 million shares changing hands.
In a statement yesterday, SDB said its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Sime Darby Allied Products Bhd and Sime Darby Holdings Bhd, had inked conditional agreements with CP Retail Development Company Ltd, Tesco Holdings BV and Tesco Plc for the disposal.
It said the disposal was part of a larger deal between Tesco Plc and Thailand’s CP Group (CP), signed in March 2020, to sell Tesco Plc’s businesses in Thailand and Malaysia to CP for an enterprise value of US$10.6 bil.
SDB said it is expected to record an estimated net gain on the disposal of RM270 mil from the sale of the stake that it has held since 2001.
It said the transaction, conditional on the approval of Malaysia’s Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, was expected to be completed in the second half of this year. – April 23, 2020, Bernama
