CI Holdings suspended, news of Permanis offer?

KUALA LUMPUR: Trading in the securities of C.I. HOLDINGS BHD [] was suspended at midday on Wednesday, July 20 for an announcement, which could be linked to an offer for its bottling unit Permanis Sdn Bhd.

At 12.01pm, it was unchanged at RM4.08.

In the one-paragraph statement, it said “trading in its shares has been suspended with effect from 12.01 p.m., Wednesday, 20 July 2011 pending an announcement”.

CI Holdings had rallied in recently on the possible sale of Permanis.

To recap, on July 5, C.I. Holdings alluded that its subsidiary Permanis Sdn Bhd is valued higher than the US$200 million (RM600 million) which was speculated to be the offer made by Asahi Group Holdings Ltd.

CI Holdings said it was always looking for opportunities to further optimise shareholder value and it had engaged in exploratory discussions with various parties.

“The facts of all such exploratory discussions are in a state of flux but to date no definitive or conclusive terms have been agreed upon,” it had said in response to a news report.

As for the price tag of US$200 million, it said: “CIH believes in the strong future potential of Permanis' business and is of the opinion that the offer price of US$200 million (RM600 million) quoted in the aforementioned article does not reflect Permanis' value”.