KUALA LUMPUR: Gateway Development Alliance Sdn Bhd (GDA) has succeeded in getting enough shares to delist and take Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd private.
As of Jan 28, the Khazanah Nasional Bhd-led consortium said it owned 95.11 per cent of the total MAHB issued shares.
GDA, in a statement, said it will now take the necessary steps to delist MAHB from Bursa Malaysia.
The last day that MAHB shares will trade publicly is Feb 19.
Following this, Bursa Malaysia will suspend the trading of MAHB shares on Feb 20, in preparation for the company's delisting from the Main Market, the airport operator said in a filing to the exchange late on Tuesday.
GDA is a consortium comprising Khazanah, the Employees Provident Fund Board, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners.
The consortium launched the voluntary takeover offer at RM11 per share, valuing MAHB, whose portfolio includes airports across Malaysia and in Turkey, at RM18.4 billion.
According to the filing, the offerors will invoke Section 222 of the Capital Markets and Services Act to compulsorily acquire any remaining shares from dissenting shareholders.
A formal Compulsory Acquisition Notice will be issued within two months from Tuesday.
"The consortium looks forward to working closely with MAHB to realise its potential to become a world-class airport operator that is competitive, efficient, commercial and service-focused," GDA said.
The consortium added that it recognised that MAHB needs investment in its infrastructure and improvements in its operations to provide better services and support expansion, both of which will benefit wider Malaysia.
The consortium also believes that the transformation of MAHB is best undertaken as a private company, supported by strategic and financial investors with international technical expertise.
"This will enable MAHB to take a long-term approach to decision-making, capital investment and improvements in airline connectivity and customer service," said GDA.
It also emphasised that MAHB is a strategic Malaysian asset and will remain majority-owned by Malaysian investors through UEM Group Bhd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah, and the EPF, which together have a 70 per cent interest in GDA.
MAHB share price closed at RM10.92 last Tuesday with 1.22 million shares traded.