In a Bursa filing, IJM Corp said it has received a letter from KLK, one of the largest palm oil planters in the country, offering to acquire its 56.2% equity holding at RM3.10 per share.

The construction group said it has agreed in principle to finalise terms of the proposed acquisition with KLK.

“After having deliberated on the merits of the offer, the board is in principle agreeable to finalise the terms and conditions with KLK … for the execution of the sale and purchase agreement,” it said.

KLK, IJM Corp and IJM Plantations had requested for a trading suspension since yesterday afternoon.

IJM Corp’s potential disposal of its plantation division comes at an opportune time, capitalising on the crude palm oil upcycle to fetch a higher valuation, MIDF Research analyst Khoo Zhen Ye said in a note.

The offer, a 26% premium to IJM Plantations’ last traded share price of RM2.46, values the palm oil producer at RM2.73 billion.

Shares in IJM Plantations have risen 35% this year, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.16 billion.

The firm posted record profit in its 2021 financial year but was loss-making in the previous two financial years.

KLK’s shares have declined 8.1% since the start of this year.

KLK has a total planted area of 223,964ha across Malaysia, Indonesia and Liberia. Acquiring IJM Plantation, which has a total planted area of 60,966ha across Malaysia and Indonesia, could expand KLK’s planted area by around 27% and raise its palm oil production.

The deal will also give IJM Corp, which mainly deals with construction, property and infrastructure, an opportunity to strengthen its balance sheet in order to undertake mega construction and infrastructure projects, analyst Khoo said.