No plans to take property unit private: IOI Corp

SHARES of IOI Properties Bhd rose as much as 8.3 per cent or RM1.10 yesterday, fuelled by a privatisation rumour which was promptly denied by the company.

There was speculation that IOI Corp Bhd, which holds about 70 per cent of IOI Properties, could take its subsidiary private, offering RM15 a share.

At that price, it would cost IOI Corp about RM1.5 billion to buy the remaining shares it does not own.

"It's not true. There's no such thing going on in the company," said a company spokesperson when contacted.

Shares of IOI Properties rose as high as RM14.20, before closing 6.1 per cent higher, or 80 sen, at RM13.90.

Recently, IOI Prop and Ho Bee Investment Ltd won a bid to buy land on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore, for S$1.097 billion (RM2.5 billion).

They will build a 20-storey condominium on the 2.12ha site in Sentosa Cove, a marina resort and waterfront housing project on Sentosa Island.

Both companies have set up a joint-venture company Pinnacle (Sentosa) Pte Ltd to buy the land and develop the project, called the Pinnacle Collection. IOI Prop has a 65 per cent stake in the joint-venture company.

The successful bid is also its second win. In March last year, IOI Properties and Ho Bee won a bid to buy land on the island for RM1.1 billion.

By New Straits Times