Malaysia's Khazanah seen divesting Westports stake

The move is believed to be in line with its policy to reduce stakes in companies that are deemed as non-strategic in its portfolio of investments.

Local reports cited sources as saying that Khazanah was looking at placing out its entire 4.74% shareholding to other funds through a book building exercise. The funds were not named however current institutional shareholders include AIA Bhd, Hwang Investment Management Bhd and Genesis Group. Malaysian government-linked funds invested in Westports include Kumpulan Wang Persaraan, Employees Provident Fund, Skim Amanah Bumiputera, Lembaga Tabung Haji and Permodalan Nasional Bhd.

Sources also said Khazanah could be divesting because its investment had “matured”, as with a current price of MYR2.90 16% above the initial public offering (IPO) price of MYR2.50, it would make a tidy MYR64.7m ($20.4m) in profit. Khazanah is the third largest shareholder in Westports, with its 4.74% stake held indirectly through Lankayan Ventures.