MRCB to sell its 51% stake in Nu Sentral

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) has proposed to sell its entire 51% stake in Nu Sentral Sdn Bhd (NSSB) to Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd (PHB) for RM119.78 million as part of its plan to dispose of non-core assets.
Following that, NSSB, which manages and operates Nu Sentral Mall, will be fully owned by PHB. NSSB is a 51:49 joint venture between MRCB and PHB.
PHB, a subsidiary of Yayasan Amanah Hartanah Bumiputera, is involved in investment and property development services as well as provides leases of office spaces to corporate clients.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, MRCB said it had entered into a share sale agreement with PHB to dispose of its 51% equity interest in NSSB comprising 10.2 million ordinary shares of RM1.00 each and 91.8 million redeemable non-convertible preference shares of 1 sen each.
The disposal would enable the group to better utilise and focus its resources on its core businesses of property development, specialised infrastructure and environment projects.
"The cash consideration from the disposal could be reinvested into the core business of MRCB such as property development," it noted.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the disposal is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2015.
"Upon completion, the disposal is expected to contribute positively to the earnings of the company for the financial year ending December 31, 2015," MRCB added.
MRCB's move to dispose of NSSB came at a time when it had acquired a piece of embassy land measuring 1.87 acres along Jalan Kia Peng for RM259.16 million early this month. The land was once the site of the official residence of the German ambassador.
According to MRCB managing director Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din, the group is looking to build a mixed development project with an estimated gross development value of between RM1.2 billion and RM1.6 billion.
The project is expected to be launched next year after obtaining approvals from Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
While the land acquisition sum is 6% higher than the market value, MRCB is of the view that the transacted value is within the price range of that in the KLCC area.
MRCB meanwhile had also in last year sold its Platinum Sentral to Quill Capita Trust for RM740 million, which saw MRCB emerge as the substantial of Quill Capita as the deal was partly satisfied by the issuance of Quill Capita shares to MRCB.
MRCB shares were down 2 sen or 1.52% to close at RM1.30 yesterday.