KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian tycoon Syed Mokhtar Albukhary is conducting a strategic review of conglomerate DRB-Hicom Bhd, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The businessman is in talks with potential advisers on options that could involve a buyout of the firm, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private.
Syed Mokhtar is also weighing a stake sale or other ways to further streamline DRB-Hicom’s businesses, the people said.
Syed Mokhtar owns 56% of the listed firm through an investment vehicle, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Shares of DRB-Hicom climbed 4.8% Thursday, their biggest move in two weeks. The company has a market value of nearly RM3 billion.
Syed Mokhtar.
Should Syed Mokhtar decide to buy out DRB, it would be the second of the businessman’s companies to recently delist from the local bourse. MMC Corp., a company involved in ports and logistics, power generation and engineering and construction, was taken private in 2021.
DRB-Hicom bought a controlling stake in Proton Holdings Bhd. in 2012 from state-owned Khazanah Nasional Bhd.
It sold 49.9% of the firm in 2017 to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., a deal that also gave Geely a majority interest in iconic British sports car brand Lotus Cars.
The Malaysian conglomerate’s automotive division has a complex that assembles about 17,000 units annually, with brands like Mercedes, Suzuki and Isuzu, according to its website.
As a top defence contractor in the country, DRB-Hicom is also involved with the development, assembly and distribution of military vehicles for the Malaysian Armed Forces.
Its other interests include Bank Muamalat, a full-fledged Islamic lender, national postal service provider Pos Malaysia as well as investments in real estate, the website shows.
