Icon’s shares jumped to a near four-year high, rising 17.8% or 13 sen to an intraday high of 86 sen while its warrants rose as much as 28.6% to 22.5 sen.
By the close of trade, Icon had pared its gains to a half-a-sen or 0.7% increase at 73.5 sen, valuing the group at RM398 million. Its warrants ended up half-a-sen or 2.9% at 18 sen.
Yesterday, Icon announced that Singapore-based trading and logistics firm Liannex Corp (S) Pte Ltd, a private vehicle of Lim and his wife Bah Kim Lian, had snapped up the 272 million shares for RM172.7 million at 63.5 sen per share from state-owned private equity firm Ekuiti National Bhd (Ekuinas).
The direct transaction has slashed Ekuinas’s shareholding in Icon to 5.8%.
The offer price of 63.5 sen per share, which is also the offer price for shares under the MGO, represents a 13% discount to Icon’s closing price of 73 sen yesterday.
Under the MGO, Lim, via Liannex, is offering to acquire the remaining 49.8% or 269.63 million shares it does not own as well as all of its 130.9 million warrants at 0.1 sen apiece, an astonishing 99.5% discount to the warrants’ high of 22.5 sen in the morning session.
This means that Lim would have to fork out RM171.3 million for the outstanding shares, and just RM130,903 for the warrants, to complete the takeover.
According to Icon’s bourse filing yesterday, the new controlling shareholder intends to maintain the group’s listing status.
Icon has established itself as an offshore support vessel (OSV) provider in Southeast Asia, primarily serving the Malaysian and Brunei coasts with its 19 active OSVs. In FY2023, it recorded an active utilisation rate of 75%, with an estimated order book of over RM300 million.
In a statement yesterday, Ekuinas said it was exiting its investment in Icon after a holding period of more than 10 years, with a cumulative realised gain of over RM500 million derived throughout its holding period.
Divestment a ‘win-win opportunity’
Ekuinas CEO Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir said the decision to divest its majority stake in Icon was carefully premised on the current favourable market conditions coupled with the “rare opportunity” for Ekuinas to pass the baton to a highly credible and committed investor.
“With the investor’s track record and financial stability in the oil and gas industry, we consider the transaction to be a win-win opportunity, mutually beneficial for both Ekuinas and Icon shareholders.
“This strategic divestiture is certainly a reflection of our commitment to maximise shareholder value and one that leaves Icon in capable hands to chart their next level of growth,” he added.
At the end of FY2023, Icon had completed a capital reduction and share consolidation exercise, effectively eliminating its retained losses and consolidating its shares by a factor of five times, it added.
Lim, 71, is Yinson’s group executive chairman with a 23% indirect and a 1.5% direct stake in the floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) and OSV provider.
Forbes ranks him at No 41 in Malaysia’s 50 Richest List with a net worth of US$420 million (RM1.99 billion) as of May 31, 2023.
He set up Yinson in 1984 as a transport and trading business with his wife, Bah, who is an executive director. He took the company’s logistics business private in 2015 to maintain a focus on oil services.
The company has diversified into renewable energy in 2020 and now owns solar power plants in India and Peru. It is also expanding its electric vehicle charging operations in Southeast Asia.
Yinson’s shares ended three sen or 1.3% lower at RM2.32, giving it a market capitalisation of RM7.1 billion.