Sime Darby has announced that they have entered a conditional sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) to acquire PNB’s 61.2% stake in UMW Holdings Berhad.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sime Darby will be buying PNB’s stake in UMW for a total of RM3.57 billion or RM5.00 per share.
Once the agreement is finalised, Sime Darby will be making a general offer for the remaining 38.8% stake that it does not hold with the aim of delisting UMW from Bursa Malaysia.
According to Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson, Sime Darby Berhad’s Group Chief Executive Officer, this is a strategic move to strengthen Sime Darby’s position in the automotive industry.
“This is a strategic move to further scale up and strengthen our presence in the Malaysian automotive sector, adding two highly performing brands into our Malaysian portfolio – Toyota and Perodua. The deal will cement Sime Darby’s position as Malaysia’s leading automotive player.
“As a partner of choice to some of the most admired brands in the automotive sector, we are very excited to have the opportunity to work with Toyota, one of the world’s largest and most respected automakers,” said Dato’ Jeffri in the press statement.
UMW is a massive giant in the Malaysian automotive industry, as they assemble, market and distribute a series of Malaysia’s most popular vehicles. They are also the sole distributor of both Toyota and Lexus in Malaysia.
Some automotive luminaries such as Paul Tan, the owner of Paul Tan has called the acquisition as the ‘birth of a new motoring giant’, as Toyota, Perodua, Lexus, BMW, MINI, Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, will all be distributed by Sime Darby when the acquisition goes through.
