Syed Mokhtar may make fresh bid for Bernas

FRANCIS FERNANDEZ

KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary's
plan for complete ownership of Padi Beras Nasional Bhd (Bernas) has been
stymied, but the entrepreneur is expected to be back soon with a fresh
offer for the national rice company.



Syed Mokhtar will now have to rewire his RM3.70-a-share offer after he failed to get enough shares from minority stakeholders.
He had used his investment firm Perspective Lane (M) Sdn Bhd and
private vehicles Seaport Terminal (Johore) Sdn Bhd Kelana Ventures Sdn
Bhd and Acara Kreatif Sdn Bhd to undertake the privatisation deal.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd, the merchant bank acting on behalf of the
four privately-held companies, said they now collectively own 83.7 per
cent of Bernas.

This means Bernas no longer complies with Bursa
Malaysia's listing rules of having at least 25 per cent public
shareholding spread.

As such, in a statement to the stock
exchange, Bernas said the four companies will apply for a three-month
grace period to help rectify the lack of public spread.

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This is not the first time Syed Mokhtar has seen his plans being
sidelined by minority shareholders. His attempt to take Tradewinds
Plantation Bhd private this year had also faced shareholders'
resistance.

However, the resistance was put down after the tycoon upped his offer for the company by 25 per cent.

Syed Mokhtar, listed by the Forbes magazine as the country's eighth
richest man with a fortune estimated at US$2.5 billion (RM7.7 billion),
increased the offer to RM5 for each Tradewinds Plantation mother share
and RM3.13 for each of its irredeemable convertible unsecured loan stock
(ICULS).

Earlier in December, his offer for each Tradewinds Plantation share was RM4.03 and ICULS RM2.43.

The plan to privatise Tradewinds Plantation, parent Tradewinds
Malaysia Bhd and Bernas was unveiled late last year in a deal valued at
RM2.5 billion then.

Corporate insiders say that total ownership of Bernas was the jewel in the crown of the whole exercise.

Hence, the Kedah-born businessman is expected to make a fresh attempt to gain full control of the company.

Bernas is seen as a strategic company as it is involved in the
procurement and processing of paddy, as well as the importation,
warehousing, distribution and marketing of rice in Malaysia.
It controls about 24 per cent of the paddy market and 45 per cent of the local rice demand.

According
to Malaysian Biotechnology Corp, Malaysia imports about 1.1 million
tonnes of rice annually, mainly from Vietnam and Thailand, costing more
than RM1 billion annually.