By KINIBIZ
The Puncak Niaga Group wants to first get the views of the federal government on the latest RM9.65 billion takeover offer made by the Selangor government.
It said that this is because the federal government holds a golden share in Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas), said its executive chairperson Rozali Ismail.
“Puncak Niaga will make a comprehensive and detailed review of the offer in accordance with our company procedures before making a decision.
This includes getting approval from the board of directors, minority shareholders and stakeholders in Puncak Niaga companies as well as financial institutions, bondholders and other authorities, he said in a statement.
He said that Puncak Niaga, which owns concessionaires Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd and Syabas, also requires more time to ascertain “certain ambiguities” in the offer letter.
As such, he said, he is “disappointed” with Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s “threat” when the latter said that Puncak Niaga will be rejecting the people of Selangor if it turned down the deal.
He said that most of Puncak Niaga’s stakeholders, such as more than seven million households and Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd’s minority shareholders who hold up to 59 percent of shares, are residents of Selangor.
“Syabas and the Puncak Niaga staff are also mostly residents of Selangor. Do all these stakeholders support the Selangor government’s stance?” he asked.
‘Can the state serve better than us?’
He added that profit is not the main objective in the utilities business and that it is pointless for the state to take over if it will mean a drop in the quality of water and its distribution.
“The MB’s statement is more a threat to the concessionaires to accept its offer. This goes against the ethics of corporate management and is unbecoming for a former corporate figure,” he said.
The state yesterday offered Syabas, Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd, Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Holdings Berhad (Splash) a total RM9.65 billion to take over its assets.
Syabas has a concession for water distribution while the other three companies have water treatment plants.
KiniBiz earlier reported that Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Holdings Berhad (Splash) is “positive” on the offer pending further clarifications, while state officials say Abass is “basically with the state government”.
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