Its chairman and chief executive officer Richard Ong said it was a good a decision had been reached, which allows the firm to move on."We are happy with the final decision of the Government and will move on to focus on other investments.Ong added that the bidding was all done via the Works Ministry, which engaged RRJ Capital.
The firm had in September, proposed to takeover PLUS for RM3bil. Ong then upped the offer to RM3.5bil.It is one of the largest private equity firms in Asia, with some US$20bil of funds under its management, primarily from the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Other bidders include Tan Sri Halim Saad and Datuk Wong Gian Kui, who offered RM5.2bil via Karongsa Private Capital Sdn Bhd; Widad Business Group Sdn Bhd with an offer of RM5.3bil and a total enterprise value of RM38.34bil and Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed of Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd with an enterprise value offer at RM34.9bil.
Earlier, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the Cabinet decided not to sell PLUS as the bids were not attractive enough. He said the best solution was for Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund to retain ownership of PLUS, .Dr Mahathir also said PLUS would be given a 20-year extension of the toll concession period and its toll rates would be reduced by 18%.