Yinson Holdings breaks silence on buyout rumour
PETALING JAYA: Amid rumours of a corporate buyout, Yinson Holdings Bhd confirmed that its single-largest shareholder and chairman is in talks with several parties for a 'potential corporate proposal'.
The leading operator of floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, however, stopped short of disclosing whether the proposal entails taking Yinson private.
'The company wishes to clarify that it is not in discussion with any third parties in respect of any buyout exercise.
'After consultation with its major shareholders, the company was advised by (chairman) Lim Han Weng that they are in exploratory discussions with various parties with reference to potential corporate proposal(s) concerning their shareholding in Yinson.
'However, given that the discussions are still at an exploratory stage, there is currently no conclusive indication that the discussions would give rise to a corporate proposal involving Yinson,' it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.
Yinson also reminded shareholders to exercise caution and seek appropriate advice when dealing in its shares.
In yesterday's early trade, the Yinson stock continued to rise following news that New York-based infrastructure investment firm Stonepeak Partners is in exclusive talks to acquire the oil and gas services firm.
Yinson shares had climbed to an intra-day high of RM2.44 before profit-taking saw the price settling at RM2.33 at market close. A total of 19.08 million shares were traded.
In the past five trading days, Yinson shares are up 16.50% although it is still down about 11% year-to-date.
Last Friday, Bloomberg reported that the founding Lim family of Yinson is working together with Stonepeak to privatise the company at RM2.76 or up to RM3.11 per share. CGS International (CGSI) Research said this valued Yinson at about RM9bil, assuming RM3.11 per share.
At yesterday's closing, Yinson's market cap stood at RM7.27bil.
According to CGSI Research, it is not surprised by the news because when Yinson announced earlier this year that its subsidiary Yinson Production would issue US$1bil in redeemable convertible preference shares (RCPS) to three funds, the company's share price fell 35% from RM2.70 to a low of RM1.75 on April 9, 2025.
This came as investors were worried about the high interest cost of the RCPS issue at 12.95% per year or higher.
'We understand from Yinson that the first US$300mil tranche of the RCPS will likely be issued in mid-June 2025 with US$200mil to be issued in mid-December 2025, US$300mil in mid-June 2026 and the final US$200mil in mid-December 2026,' said the research house in a report yesterday.
Recall that the Lim family, which owns 27% of Yinson, plans to list Yinson Production on the US equity markets in five years' time.
One possible scenario CGSI Research saw was for the Lim family to take a loan from Stonepeak with a view to repay it in five years upon the initial public offering of Yinson Production.
This would mean that the Lim family may ultimately hold 100% of Yinson, assuming the privatisation happens.
'But we think that the Lim family would likely at least maintain its about 27% equity stake in Yinson if Stonepeak comes in as an equity partner.'
The research house said it would be unlikely that the three funds would block the privatisation of Yinson, as the ultimate beneficial ownership of the group will likely remain in the hands of the Lim family, whichever the scenario.
It said the listing of Yinson Production would be the key exit plan for those funds as well as yield significant capital gains for Yinson. This is probably the rationale for the potential privatisation of Yinson, added CGSI Research.
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