KUALA LUMPUR: Boustead Holdings Bhd is selling its controlling stake of 66.41 per cent in the University of Nottingham (UNM) in Selangor for £23.5 million (RM137 million).
In an exchange filing today, the conglomerate said it would enter a conditional share sales agreement with the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, to exit its venture in UNM and a campus in Semenyih.
The University of Nottingham's wholly-owned Malaysian subsidiary is likely to become the majority shareholder in UNM by acquiring Boustead's shares.
Boustead group managing director Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly said the exit would allow the company to further capitalise its strengths and resources more effectively in supporting the development of education in Malaysia on a wider scale.
"As a government-linked company, Boustead will continue to create other forms of collaboration and partnership that will help prepare valuable future talents particularly in digital technologies, renewable energy and Internet of Things, among others," he said in a statement today.
Shazalli said Boustead would continue to build on the established relationship with UNM, while nurturing relationship with other local tertiary institutions including Universiti Teknologi Mara and Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia.
Such partnership would focus on research and development in the areas of pharmaceutical, plantation, marine and aerospace, as well as oil and gas which are aligned with Boustead's core strengths.
"By placing UNM under the full stewardship of the University of Nottingham, we trust that UNM will continue to accomplish great things in the future. The University of Nottingham is an esteemed global institution and we extend our best wishes for all the upcoming endeavours of UNM," he added.
Boustead said the exit was also part of its strategy, focusing on rationalising non-strategic assets as well as accelerating performance improvement by capitalising on emerging opportunities for value creation within existing core businesses.
UNM vice-chancellor Professor Shearer West said the institution's commitment to UNM and Malaysia remained as strong as ever.
"This transaction will allow us to build on exceptional foundations in teaching and research to develop new, innovative teaching programmes and research that supports sustainable development locally, regionally and globally," he added.
UNM is a private university branch campus of the University of Nottingham and the first campus of a British university in Malaysia.
Boustead was the majority shareholder of UNM since its campus establishment in 2000.
In partnership with YTL Corp Bhd and the University of Nottingham, UNM was formally announced in 1998 and welcomed its first 89 students in September 2000 in Kuala Lumpur.
In 2005, UNM relocated to a 118-acre campus in Semenyih.
In 2006, UNM reopened a Kuala Lumpur branch in Chulan Tower, Jalan Conlay to instruct MBA students.
Among the distinctions earned by UNM are the Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2001 and the Queen's Award for Industry (International Trade) in 2006.