Asia/Pacific News
Petronas Increases Bid for MISC to $3bn
Malaysian state energy company Petroliam Nasional Bhd. (Petronas) has increased its bid to buy out shipping group MISC Bhd (MISC) by 3.8 percent to 9.16 billion ringgit ($3 billion), Bloomberg reports.
The increased offer came after minority shareholders put pressure on Petronas, which already owns 62.7 percent of MISC.
The company had extended a deadline for the shareholders to accept its 5.30 ringgit-per-share offer from March 19 to April 5, but it had still received acceptances from only 7.6 percent of shareholders by the later data.
The new offer of 5.50 ringgit per share is open until April 19.
MISC operates the second-biggest fleet of LNG carriers in the world, after Qatar Gas Transport Co., according to data from shipbroker Clarkson Plc cited by Bloomberg.
When it announced plans for the buyout of MISC earlier this year, Petronas said the deal would give it greater flexibility in deciding MISC's strategic direction.
MISC left the container shipping business last year, after losing $789 million over three years, to focus on LNG.
