A CONSORTIUM led by a group of influential Middle Eastern investors has proposed to take over Malaysian builder Putrajaya Perdana (PP), using it as their vehicle for global construction projects.

　　Swan Symphony has entered an agreement with PP's controlling shareholder Eastern & Oriental to buy 68.6 million shares representing 50.6 per cent of the company. It would pay RM2.90 cash a share, and extend the same offer to other shareholders under a mandatory general offer. In total, Swan is expected to fork out over RM390 million (S$170.4 million). PP's listing on Bursa Malaysia would be maintained.

　　Swan is 51 per cent owned by Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia Investment Corporation (ADKM), with the balance held by Autron Investment. Autron is a subsidiary of Autron Corporation, a company listed on the Singapore and Australian stock exchanges.

　　ADKM is a partnership comprising Sabah Mohd S Al-Sabah, Yousef Mana S Al Otaiba and Malaysian Tengku Faisal Ibrahim.

　　Listed last October, PP is an investment holding company. Its subsidiary Putra Perdana Construction was involved in the building of a number of government precincts in the federal administrative capital of Putrajaya.

　　It is this experience in township master planning development, that Swan wants to tap so as to capitalise on the huge construction boom in the Gulf states, as well as South-east Asia. UAE and Kuwait are expected to spend over US$200 billion each in their development plans, Tengku Faisal said in a statement yesterday.

　　The consortium obviously has the contacts. Mr Sabah is a member of Kuwait's ruling Al-Sabah family. Mr Yousef is the director of international affairs to the Crown Prince Court of the Emirates of Abu Dhabi. His father is the oil minister as well as adviser to the UAE president.

　　Mr Sabah said PP 'would be the first step in our larger plan of creating a global construction giant to capitalise on the increasing demand for construction firms globally, especially in the GCC (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf)'.

　　Less well-known is Tengku Faisal. A member of the Pahang royalty, he was formerly a director of insurance firm ING Malaysia and a former executive director of Ekovest - the company involved in the Danga Bay project in Johor. Middle Eastern interest in Malaysian corporate assets appears to be rising. Only last month, Saudi Telecom Company said it would buy 25 per cent of Binariang - the parent company of Maxis, Malaysia's biggest telco - as well as 51 per cent of Maxis' Indonesian subsidiary. Binariang plans to take Maxis private.

　　The sale of E&O's 50.6 per cent in PP is subject to regulatory approval, including the Foreign Investment Committee.

　　PP's net tangible asset per share is some RM1.04. Its share price had run up after E&O announced in May it planned to dispose of its stake in the company. PP traded at RM2.77 prior to its suspension.

　　A CONSORTIUM led by a group of influential Middle Eastern investors has proposed to take over Malaysian builder Putrajaya Perdana (PP), using it as their vehicle for global construction projects.

　　Swan Symphony has entered an agreement with PP's controlling shareholder Eastern & Oriental to buy 68.6 million shares representing 50.6 per cent of the company. It would pay RM2.90 cash a share, and extend the same offer to other shareholders under a mandatory general offer. In total, Swan is expected to fork out over RM390 million (S$170.4 million). PP's listing on Bursa Malaysia would be maintained.

　　Swan is 51 per cent owned by Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia Investment Corporation (ADKM), with the balance held by Autron Investment. Autron is a subsidiary of Autron Corporation, a company listed on the Singapore and Australian stock exchanges.

　　ADKM is a partnership comprising Sabah Mohd S Al-Sabah, Yousef Mana S Al Otaiba and Malaysian Tengku Faisal Ibrahim.

　　Listed last October, PP is an investment holding company. Its subsidiary Putra Perdana Construction was involved in the building of a number of government precincts in the federal administrative capital of Putrajaya.

　　It is this experience in township master planning development, that Swan wants to tap so as to capitalise on the huge construction boom in the Gulf states, as well as South-east Asia. UAE and Kuwait are expected to spend over US$200 billion each in their development plans, Tengku Faisal said in a statement yesterday.

　　The consortium obviously has the contacts. Mr Sabah is a member of Kuwait's ruling Al-Sabah family. Mr Yousef is the director of international affairs to the Crown Prince Court of the Emirates of Abu Dhabi. His father is the oil minister as well as adviser to the UAE president.

　　Mr Sabah said PP 'would be the first step in our larger plan of creating a global construction giant to capitalise on the increasing demand for construction firms globally, especially in the GCC (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf)'.

　　Less well-known is Tengku Faisal. A member of the Pahang royalty, he was formerly a director of insurance firm ING Malaysia and a former executive director of Ekovest - the company involved in the Danga Bay project in Johor. Middle Eastern interest in Malaysian corporate assets appears to be rising. Only last month, Saudi Telecom Company said it would buy 25 per cent of Binariang - the parent company of Maxis, Malaysia's biggest telco - as well as 51 per cent of Maxis' Indonesian subsidiary. Binariang plans to take Maxis private.

　　The sale of E&O's 50.6 per cent in PP is subject to regulatory approval, including the Foreign Investment Committee.

　　PP's net tangible asset per share is some RM1.04. Its share price had run up after E&O announced in May it planned to dispose of its stake in the company. PP traded at RM2.77 prior to its suspension.

《The Business Times》