Malaysia’s Petronas offers $2.8 bn for shipping firm MISC buyout

Malaysia's state-owned oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) has offered to buy the remaining shares of LNG shipping major MISC Berhad for approximately 8.7 billion Malaysian ringgit ($2.8 billion) aiming to take full control of the company.

Petronas, which currently owns about 63-per cent stake in MISC, has offered 5.30 ringgit per share of MISC for acquiring the remaining 1.67 billion shares of the shipping company, Petronas said in a statement.

Analysts consider the offer price attractive to MISC shareholders as it represents a 19-per cent premium to MISC's closing price of 4.45 ringgit per share on the Malaysian Stock Exchange, before trading was halted on Thursday.

The take-over bid is conditional on Petronas receiving acceptances that would result in the company holding at least 90 per cent of the total shares of MISC.

Kuala Lumpur-based Petronas is an integrated oil and gas company with businesses in upstream oil and gas exploration and production, downstream oil refining, natural gas processing and liquefaction, transmission, LNG shipping and oil and gas distribution. MISC is an important part of Petronas' integrated business.

The offer represents a significant step by Petronas to take MISC private and obtain full control of the company that will provide it with greater flexibility in deciding MISC's strategic direction, Petronas said.