Hong Leong Industries and NSTP find buyer for Malaysian Newsprint Industries

PETALING JAYA: Hong Leong Industries Bhd, The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Bhd (NSTP) and other shareholders of Malaysian Newsprint Industries Sdn Bhd (MNI), have entered into a shares sale agreement last Wednesday, to sell their interests to Asia Honour (Hong Kong) Ltd.
This was done with the consent of liquidator, Lim San Peen of PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services Sdn Bhd (PwC Advisory).
HLI will sell its entire stake in MNI for RM22.3 million, while NSTP will pocket RM14.15 million according to its parent Media Prima Bhd in a filing with the stock exchange today.
The two companies will also sell their entire interests in redeemable preference shares of MNI for an amount equivalent to HLI and NSTP respective portion of the balance consideration, after deducting inter alia all secured debts, admitted debts, liquidation costs and other agreed costs from the sum of RM338.0 million.
Both HLI and NSTP will be able to recoup part of its investments which have been full written down.
The sale consideration was arrived at on a willing buyer willing seller basis, taking into account the value of the assets in MNI.
HLI and NSTP will receive the full sale consideration by September 2018.
PwC Advisory will apply to the court for the termination of the creditors’ voluntary winding-up of MNI after the payments of inter alia all secured debts, admitted debts, liquidation costs and other agreed costs.
HLI was down two sen to close at RM11.18, with some 106,100 shares changing hands, while Media Prima closed unchanged at 32.5 sen with some 3.9 million shares changing hands.