KUALA LUMPUR (March 27) — GuocoLand (Malaysia) Bhd said the proposal by its controlling shareholder to privatise the company will be tabled to shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), with the meeting date to be announced later.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the company said its board — excluding interested directors — had deliberated on the proposal after considering advice from an independent adviser. The board resolved to table the resolution to disinterested shareholders for approval at the upcoming EGM.
The privatisation proposal was first announced on Feb 3 by GLL (Malaysia) Pte Ltd, which intends to take the company private via a selective capital reduction and capital repayment exercise at RM1.10 per share.
Minority shareholders holding 244.95 million shares, or 34.97% of the total shares, stand to receive RM269.45 million in capital repayment based on the offer price.
Quek Leng Chan, who controls the Hong Leong Group, directly owns a 2.78% stake in GuocoLand Malaysia, equivalent to 19.51 million shares. He is expected to receive about RM21.46 million from the exercise.
The privatisation will be funded mainly using excess cash within the company, with any shortfall to be met through advances or equity injections from its parent, including Singapore-listed GuocoLand Ltd.
Upon completion, 244.95 million shares will be cancelled, reducing the total number of shares outstanding to 455.51 million. The remaining shares will be fully held by GLL (Malaysia), making GuocoLand Malaysia an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of GuocoLand Ltd.
The controlling shareholder does not intend to maintain the company’s listing status and will apply to delist the company from Bursa Securities after the exercise is completed.
GuocoLand Malaysia last closed at RM1.06, giving it a market capitalisation of about RM742 million.
The case shows that selective capital reduction is a common privatisation method in Malaysia, allowing controlling shareholders to acquire minority stakes using the company’s own cash instead of launching a full general offer.
The RM1.10 offer price represents only a modest premium to the recent market price, indicating that the market may already be pricing in limited growth prospects or asset unlocking potential.
Once a company is delisted, remaining shareholders face liquidity risk as unlisted shares are harder to trade, which often encourages minorities to accept the cash exit.
Privatisation moves by large groups such as Hong Leong may reflect strategic intentions such as restructuring assets, improving operational flexibility, or potentially relisting the business in the future at a higher valuation.
Funding the exercise with internal cash suggests the company has a relatively healthy balance sheet, but it also means part of shareholders’ existing capital is being used to finance their own exit.
China