Tuesday 27 July 2010

MISC to offer 25pc of engineering unit via IPO


MISC Bhd, the shipping arm of the state oil firm Petronas, will sell a 25.5 per cent stake in its heavy engineering unit under a proposed initial public offering (IPO).

MISC said on a statement late on Friday that it will sell 146 million shares of its unit Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings (MMHE) to institutional investors via a bookbuilding exercise.

The public issue will comprise of 262 million shares and will involve MISC shareholders.

“The proposed listing will enable MISC and its subsidiaries to accelerate the growth of its offshore and heaving engineering divisions,” MISC said.

The IPO is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter and will boost MMHE’s share capital to RM2.5 billion, the shipping company said.

MMHE will also make a cash dividend payout of RM300 million to MISC.

MISC said it plans to use the proceeds from the share sale to institutional investors as capital expenditure while proceeds from public will fund an upgrade of its yard in Johor and additional expenditure for operations in Turkmenistan.

MISC hired Credit Suisse and Maybank for the IPO that was expected to raise over US$300 million (RM960 million), said IFR, a Thomson Reuters service. — Reuters

Source : The Malaysian Insider