KUALA LUMPUR: Tolled-highway operator Litrak Holdings Bhd and the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc) have mutually agreed to extend the cut-off date to negotiate and finalise the terms of the acquisition from Aug 30 to Oct 31.
Litrak Holdings said on Thursday MOF Inc and Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Holdings Sdn Bhd (Sprint Holdings), a 50% associate of Litrak Holdings, have also mutually agreed to extend the cut-off date to Oct 31.
“Save for the aforementioned extensions, all other terms contained in the offers shall continue to be in full force and effect, ” it said.
To recap, the company announced on June 21 that it had received a letter of offer from MOF Inc to acquire all the shares of its unit, Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd (Litrak).
On June 22, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the federal government had made a conditional offer, subject to Cabinet approval, to acquire Gamuda Bhd's four urban highways highways at a total cost of RM6.2bil.
They are Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP), SPRINT, Lebuhraya Shah Alam (Kesas) and Smart Tunnel (SMART).
Gamuda Bhd owns a 44% stake in Litrak, a 52% stake in Sprint, a 70% stake in Kesas and a 50% stake in SMART.
The proposed takeover, Lim then said, would be funded by a bond issuance that was fully-financed and paid for from the collection of congestion charges. The takeover could save taxpayers RM5.3bil in compensation to the concessionaires, Lim had said.
However, in early August, there was uncertainty about the proposed takeover of Gamuda's four urban highways.
It was reported that although the Finance Ministry has been consistent in its view that the government could afford the RM6.2bil deal, there have been comments by the Prime Minister that the government did not have the money to pay for it.
Ever since the deal was announced in June, there have been conflicting opinions on the status of the takeover.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said in early August that: "The Finance Ministry seems to be convinced that it can be done. Our problem is that we don't have the money.”
