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Malaysia stock market and companies daily report (March 18, 2010)

Contributed by Shares Investment

By Shares Investment

Astro Buyout Pegged At RM4.30 Per Share
Ananda Krishnan, Khazanah Nasional and partners have offered to buy out minority shareholders of Astro All Asia Networks in a cash deal that values the pay-television operator at RM8.5b, or RM4.30 per share. This is a 21% premium to the stock’s last traded price of RM3.56. CIMB Investment Bank, advisor to the deal, said that the company will be delisted in the middle of June should there be no hiccups. The company does not intend to keep Astro listed and, if all goes well, it will be delisted sometime in the middle of June, said CIMB Investment Bank, the adviser to Astro Holdings.

Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, CEO of CIMB Group Holdings, which owns CIMB Investment commented that the private status would enable the satellite operator to expand its operations, estimated to cost RM3-5b over the next 3 years, without subjecting minority shareholders to the associated risks. Nazir said a relisting of Astro would be considered once it achieved a more stable earnings profile.

Wah Seong Made Bid For Socotherm
Speaking at a press conference in KL yesterday, Wah Seong Corp’s management said it had made a bid to buy troubled Italian pipe-coating company Socotherm SpA three weeks ago, to expand into the lucrative South American market. The result of the bid should be known by April, the management added. Should the deal which is funded internally pull through, it will see Wah Seong becoming the world’s second-largest pipe-coating company, after US firm Bredero Shaw. Wah Seong is also in talks with the Orleans group of West Africa to buy a stake in the latter’s pipe-coating business in Nigeria.

AirAsia 1Q10 “Looking Strong” – Tony Fernandes
AirAsia CEO Datuk Tony Fernandes told Bloomberg yesterday that the low cost carrier’s said 1Q10 earnings are “looking strong” and that it does not need to raise more capital. During the interview, he said forward bookings for 2Q10 were higher than last year, adding that the 1Q10 passenger numbers were “very strong”.

This article is contributed by Shares Investment. Visit Sharesinv.com for the latest Singapore, Malaysia and China stock market news and reports.