Bloomberg Maybank Said to Plan $1.4 Billion Bid for Broker Kim Eng

Malayan Banking Bhd., Malaysia’s biggest lender by assets, is planning an offer of about 4.2 billion ringgit ($1.4 billion) for Singapore broker Kim Eng Holdings Ltd., two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Maybank, as the Kuala Lumpur-based bank is known, will make a general offer to shareholders, said the people, declining to be identified as the plans are confidential. Both companies’ shares were suspended today pending an announcement. Kim Eng said Dec. 17 it had been approached about a takeover.

Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, chief executive officer of Maybank Investment Bank Bhd., in September said the company wanted to expand investment-banking operations abroad, starting with its Asian neighbors Singapore and Indonesia. Maybank has commercial and retail banking operations in those countries.

Yuanta Securities Asia Financial Services Ltd. sold 168.5 million Kim Eng shares to a unit of Maybank for S$522.3 million, or S$3.1 a share, according to a Taiwan Stock Exchange statement today. That’s equivalent to about 28 percent of Kim Eng, based on Kim Eng’s 600 million outstanding shares.
Kim Eng rose 2.7 percent to S$2.70 yesterday in Singapore trading, taking gains in the past month to 47 percent.

Nomura Singapore Ltd. and Maybank Investment Bank are advising Maybank on the offer, one of the people said.   more ...