PETALING JAYA: Gateway Development Alliance Sdn Bhd (GDA) has announced that its takeover offer for Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has reached an effective 84.12% stake as of 5pm Wednesday.
The consortium—including associates Pantai Panorama Sdn Bhd, Kwasa Aktif Sdn Bhd, and GIP Aurea Pte Ltd—initially set a target to achieve 90% acceptance within the original deadline, a key condition of the voluntary offer.
Earlier this week, GDA and MAHB extended the deadline to Jan 17 to allow the Khazanah Nasional Bhd-led group, which also includes the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), to meet this condition.
In a Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday, GDA reported that its total shareholding, including associates, stands at 83.04%, with an additional 1.09% of shares transferred but pending receipt of acceptance documents.
GDA is offering RM11 per share, sparking debates among shareholders. While sector analysts, independent valuers, and investors have largely recommended accepting the offer, non-independent directors have argued that it is unfair and unreasonable, given MAHB’s strong post-pandemic recovery as a public entity.
Meanwhile, MAHB’s share price has inched closer to the offer price, closing 14 sen higher at RM10.78 yesterday.
Should MAHB be delisted, there remains a possibility of it returning to public trading in the future, but the timeline for re-listing is uncertain. Experts caution that minority shareholders who hold out may see their influence diluted, as GDA’s dominant stake could sway major decisions.
