Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Maika Share Buy Back Not Politically-Motivated - Tycoon
11:14 PM | Posted by
Admin
KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (Bernama) -- There is no political motive in the takeover of Maika Holdings Bhd shares but purely a noble intention to help 66,000 long-suffering Malaysian Indians, port tycoon Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam said on Wednesday.
Brushing aside speculation and news reports that the move to buy back the shares was politically-linked, the businessman said his intention was to try end the issue because he felt that shareholders should be given a respite after being caught in the Maika share fiasco for the last 26 years.
"I was appointed to the Cabinet Committee and Special Implementation Taskforce aimed at assisting the Indian community, and I found this issue to be a big problem faced by Indians.
"So, I have come out with this plan or proposal. This problem has been going on and on.
"The prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) and the committee are certainly disturbed with this problem. So, I branched into this. We are not looking at the past, but the future. Out of the 66,000 shareholders, about 60,000 are without proper resources (cash). This is the important segment that I want to assist in," he declared at a press conference at the CIMB Bank headquarters here on Wednesday.
Also present at the press conference, held to announce the conditional takeover offer by G Team Resources & Holding Bhd to acquire all shares in Maika Holdings Bhd, was CIMB Group Chief Executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak.
Under the proposal, Gnanalingam's firm, G Team Resources, will buy out financially-troubled Maika for RM100 million and pay back the money invested by the 66,000 long-suffering shareholders of MIC's investment arm. Each shareholder would stand to get 80 sen per share.
Shareholders would be given 21 days to redeem their shares. They would get their offer letters via post and would most likely be asked to submit the share buy-back applications to any CIMB Bank branches nationwide.
"G Team does not intend to gain any financial benefits from the exercise. Should the subsequent disposal of Maika's assets and settlement of liabilities result in any financial gain, the monies would be donated to an established charity for the benefit of the Malaysian Indian community.
"In the case of a shortfall in the asset and liabilities realisation, the loss would be borne by G Team. The offer shall be conditional upon G Team receiving more than 50 per cent of the voting shares in Maika, falling which, the offer would lapse," the Westports executive chairman added.
However, the well-known businessman, dubbed the 'white knight' who would save Maika and end the woes of the 66,000 Malaysian Indians, said from the feedback received to date, the exercise would result in at least 70 per cent of Maika shares being bought back.
On Oriental Capital Assurance (OCA) Bhd, a 74 per cent subsidiary of Maika, he said G Team would explore the opportunities to dispose the stake and were open to receive any offer for it from interested parties.
"We intend to cease Maika's operations and comply with BNM's (Bank Negara Malaysia) condition to dispose the stake in OCA within 12 months from the completion of the subsequent general offer on OCA. CIMB would be assisting G Team manage the sale of OCA to parties approved by BNM," he added.
On Maika's second biggest asset, a 32 hectare land in Sepang, Gnanalingam said the land was encumbered and once its title and valuation had been verified, a committee led by him, would determine the best way to realise the value of the land.
Gnanalingam however, declined to reveal the exact percentage of Maika shares owned by MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
It had been reported that many people who invested in Maika, the investment arm of the MIC, in 1984 were Indian estate workers who had pawned their family jewellery and withdrawn their life savings to invest.
But Maika Holdings, which was established in 1982 to enable Malaysian Indians to participate in the country's economic growth, did not produce good returns, much to the disillusionment of its shareholders.
Asked if a court order taken out by some Maika shareholders to stop such a sale in the past would hamper the exercise, Gnanalingam said it would not be stumbling block but "we can't do anything about it until we become substantial shareholders of Maika".
Meanwhile, Nazir explained that both G Team and CIMB did not have any intention to short change the shareholders through the exercise and that "the key thing is to look forward."
He said the whole exercise would clear one hurdle at a time and would "cross the bridge when we come to it but we are clearly going ahead (with the exercise).
"We will issue the share sale proposal forms and it must be submitted at CIMB branches. We want to ensure every single shareholder receives the forms for the share buy-back," he added.
-- BERNAMA
Brushing aside speculation and news reports that the move to buy back the shares was politically-linked, the businessman said his intention was to try end the issue because he felt that shareholders should be given a respite after being caught in the Maika share fiasco for the last 26 years.
"I was appointed to the Cabinet Committee and Special Implementation Taskforce aimed at assisting the Indian community, and I found this issue to be a big problem faced by Indians.
"So, I have come out with this plan or proposal. This problem has been going on and on.
"The prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) and the committee are certainly disturbed with this problem. So, I branched into this. We are not looking at the past, but the future. Out of the 66,000 shareholders, about 60,000 are without proper resources (cash). This is the important segment that I want to assist in," he declared at a press conference at the CIMB Bank headquarters here on Wednesday.
Also present at the press conference, held to announce the conditional takeover offer by G Team Resources & Holding Bhd to acquire all shares in Maika Holdings Bhd, was CIMB Group Chief Executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak.
Under the proposal, Gnanalingam's firm, G Team Resources, will buy out financially-troubled Maika for RM100 million and pay back the money invested by the 66,000 long-suffering shareholders of MIC's investment arm. Each shareholder would stand to get 80 sen per share.
Shareholders would be given 21 days to redeem their shares. They would get their offer letters via post and would most likely be asked to submit the share buy-back applications to any CIMB Bank branches nationwide.
"G Team does not intend to gain any financial benefits from the exercise. Should the subsequent disposal of Maika's assets and settlement of liabilities result in any financial gain, the monies would be donated to an established charity for the benefit of the Malaysian Indian community.
"In the case of a shortfall in the asset and liabilities realisation, the loss would be borne by G Team. The offer shall be conditional upon G Team receiving more than 50 per cent of the voting shares in Maika, falling which, the offer would lapse," the Westports executive chairman added.
However, the well-known businessman, dubbed the 'white knight' who would save Maika and end the woes of the 66,000 Malaysian Indians, said from the feedback received to date, the exercise would result in at least 70 per cent of Maika shares being bought back.
On Oriental Capital Assurance (OCA) Bhd, a 74 per cent subsidiary of Maika, he said G Team would explore the opportunities to dispose the stake and were open to receive any offer for it from interested parties.
"We intend to cease Maika's operations and comply with BNM's (Bank Negara Malaysia) condition to dispose the stake in OCA within 12 months from the completion of the subsequent general offer on OCA. CIMB would be assisting G Team manage the sale of OCA to parties approved by BNM," he added.
On Maika's second biggest asset, a 32 hectare land in Sepang, Gnanalingam said the land was encumbered and once its title and valuation had been verified, a committee led by him, would determine the best way to realise the value of the land.
Gnanalingam however, declined to reveal the exact percentage of Maika shares owned by MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
It had been reported that many people who invested in Maika, the investment arm of the MIC, in 1984 were Indian estate workers who had pawned their family jewellery and withdrawn their life savings to invest.
But Maika Holdings, which was established in 1982 to enable Malaysian Indians to participate in the country's economic growth, did not produce good returns, much to the disillusionment of its shareholders.
Asked if a court order taken out by some Maika shareholders to stop such a sale in the past would hamper the exercise, Gnanalingam said it would not be stumbling block but "we can't do anything about it until we become substantial shareholders of Maika".
Meanwhile, Nazir explained that both G Team and CIMB did not have any intention to short change the shareholders through the exercise and that "the key thing is to look forward."
He said the whole exercise would clear one hurdle at a time and would "cross the bridge when we come to it but we are clearly going ahead (with the exercise).
"We will issue the share sale proposal forms and it must be submitted at CIMB branches. We want to ensure every single shareholder receives the forms for the share buy-back," he added.
-- BERNAMA
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