The Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which holds the largest stake in IJM Corp Bhd, has voluntarily abstained from voting on the takeover offer proposed by Sunway Bhd for the construction group.
An announcement on the EPF website clarified that the retirement fund chose to abstain in view of its shareholding positions in both Sunway and IJM. This decision follows a recent extraordinary general meeting where 99.27% of Sunway shareholders approved the 10:90 cash-and-share deal.
EPF chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn had previously indicated in February that the fund would review the independent advice circular (IAC) before making a final determination on whether to accept Sunway’s proposal.
Independent adviser recommends rejection
The IAC, released to IJM shareholders on March 13, saw M&A Securities Sdn Bhd categorize the offer as both not fair and not reasonable. The investment banking firm advised the board to recommend that shareholders reject the bid.
M&A Securities calculated a sum-of-parts (SOP) value for IJM ranging between RM5.84 and RM6.48 per share. Consequently, the RM3.15 per share offered by Sunway represents a significant discount of between 46.1% and 51.4% against that valuation.
The adviser also noted that while the offer is a 7.5% premium to IJM’s projected net assets of RM2.93 per share as of end-2025, it remains insufficient when compared to the group’s broader intrinsic value.
Strategic holdings and market reaction
EPF maintains a dominant presence in both entities, holding a 20.523% stake in IJM and a 9.73% stake in Sunway. The takeover bid by Sunway aims to acquire the property-to-highway construction and infrastructure group for a total valuation of approximately RM11 billion.
Market activity on Friday saw IJM shares closing 5.06% higher at RM2.49, bringing the group’s market capitalisation to RM9.08 billion. The stock has seen a 9.3% gain since the beginning of the year.
Meanwhile, Sunway’s share price rose by 1.53% to close at RM5.31. This move brings Sunway’s total market capitalisation to RM36.14 billion as the market continues to react to the proposed consolidation of the two construction giants.
