SUBANG: Bio Osmo Bhd is eyeing Pulau Langkawi, Penang and Kota Kinabalu as part of the expansion for its current core business of hospitality.
Executive director Azrin Kamaluddin said Bio Osmo was poised to become a formidable operator in the country’s hospitality sector.
The company will also change its name to Impiana Hotels Bhd in April.
Bio Osmo first ventured into the hospitality sector after acquiring Intra Magnum Sdn Bhd in July 2016.
“We are always looking for something nice in Langkawi, Penang and Kota Kinabalu, especially if we can find something which comes across as reasonable,” he told reporters after the company’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) here today.
On January 31, the company announced that it had signed a total of six share sale agreements to acquire hotels under the Impiana brand in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Cherating, commercial land in Pangkor, as well as Impiana’s hotel management company for a total of RM425.9 million.
The proposed acquisition entails the issuance of 4.8 billion new shares, 3.2 billion irredeemable convertible preference shares, and a cash payment of RM25.9 million.
The diversification into the hospitality businesses which took place in 2016 has been contributing profits while the bottled drinking water division has continued to incur losses.
The company in December last year disposed of its loss-making bottled drinking water business for RM2.5 million in line with its plan to focus on the hospitality businesses.
Azrin said excluding the water business, the company had been profitable.
He, however, he did not give any timeline on the turnaround plan for the company.
He said with its shareholders’ approval, Bio Osmo’s hospitality business in Malaysia will stand to benefit, to some degree, from the local tourism industry’s strong receipt growth.
“With the completion of the transaction moving forward, Bio Osmo will be a full-fledged hospitality player. The management will now be fully focused as we can streamline our business operations and work towards developing the group into a profitable hospitality player,” he said.