Property developer Plenitude offers to take over Nomad for RM278.84mil
PETALING JAYA: Property developer Plenitude Bhd has offered to take over The Nomad Group, which owns a string of properties in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Plenitude proposed to take over Nomad for RM1.25 per share or RM278.84mil via the issuance of 111.55 million new Plenitude shares of RM2.50 each.
Plenitude will offer Nomad shareholders one Plenitude share worth RM2.50 for two Nomad shares.
Plenitude’s principal activities are investment holding and provision of management services, and is through its wholly-owned subsidiaries involved in property development, property investment, hotel operations and provision of management services for the hotel and travel industry.
The Nomad Group’s hotel segment owns the Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre, The Nomad SuCasa, GLOW Penang and The Nomad Services Residences Bangsar.
Plenitude said since its hotels were currently in Penang, the acquisition would enable it to tap into the hotel sector in Kuala Lumpur by virtue of Nomad’s properties in the city.
As of yesterday, Plenitude’s authorised and paid-up share capital were RM500mil and RM270mil, respectively.
Its substantial shareholders – Ikatanbina Sdn Bhd, Fields Equity Management Ltd and En Primeurs Sdn Bhd – have direct interests of 45.49%, 19.58% and 7.74%, respectively.
Plenitude and Nomad are reported to be linked to associates of former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.
Plenitude shares fell three sen yesterday to RM2.29 after an intra-day high of RM2.31, while shares of Nomad closed at 90 sen.
Nomad said its board would deliberate on the offer and decide whether to seek an alternate person to make a takeover offer for the offer shares.
“As the offer entails an equity swap of Nomad shares for the consideration shares, shareholders should take it as an opportunity to participate in the future growth and prospects of the enlarged Plenitude Group rather than solely as an exit strategy,” Nomad said.
Nomad’s rationale for the transaction included effective premiums with respect to implied offer prices, historical market prices of Nomad shares and accepting holders’ receipt of more Plenitude shares under the offer as compared with swapping their investment from Nomad shares to Plenitude’s in the open market based on market prices.
For the financial year ended June 30, 2014, Plenitude paid a gross dividend of six sen per share.
Its board aimed to maintain the payment of dividend of at least six sen per share in respect of the forthcoming two-financial year end period of June 30, 2015 and 2016, based on the enlarged issued and paid-up share capital of Plenitude.
For the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, Nomad posted net profit of RM10.5mil, a whopping 13-fold growth from a net loss of RM860,000 last year. Revenue, however, came in at RM17.9mil, down 6.77% from RM19.2mil last year.