PNB, Liew now collectively own 78.9pc stake in SP Setia

KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) and Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin now collectively own 78.95 per cent of SP Setia Bhd.

This is after the mandatory general offer (MGO) for SP Setia by PNB and Liew, as joint offerors, closed on March 19 this year.

Therefore, SP Setia will request to Bursa Malaysia for an acceptance of a lower public shareholding spread, PNB and Liew said in a joint statement yesterday.

The aggregate shareholding of PNB and the unit trust funds under its management increased from 32.99 per cent in September 2011 to 70.71 per cent as at March 19, while Liew maintains his 8.24 per cent direct stake in SP Setia.

The MGO was triggered in September last year when PNB and parties acting in concert with it raised their collective stakes to 33.17 per cent, slightly above the 33 per cent threshold for triggering MGOs.

PNB and Liew yesterday reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining SP Setia's listing and stature as the premier property developer on Bursa Malaysia.

PNB president and group chief executive Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman and Liew said they will also work with advisers and SP Setia to explore all possible options to restore its public shareholding spread.

"We are happy that this exercise concluded satisfactorily. We believe that SP Setia will continue to perform well, and be a significant contributor to the investment portfolio of PNB and the unit trust funds under its management, which will benefit our 10.7 million account holders," Hamad Kama said in the statement.

Liew, meanwhile, said that the joint offerers look forward to continuing building on the strong success of SP Setia by strengthening its property sales. "We are confident we will be able to see sustained growth in the remaining quarters of this financial year," he added.

By Business Times