This will, in turn, help WCT clean up its balance sheet and lower its gearing ratio, which analysts believe will remove a persistent discount on the company’s share price.
While WCT had previously mooted a possible REIT listing of its malls by the end of the year, injecting them into an existing REIT would prove faster and easier to accomplish.
Analysts have pegged a valuation of RM1.2 billion to WCT’s three malls, namely Paradigm Mall in Petaling Jaya, AEON Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre in Klang and gateway@klia2 in Sepang. The group has another Paradigm Mall coming up in Johor Baru that is scheduled to open next April, according to its website.
To recap, Lim got the market excited last Tuesday after he surfaced in WCT as its biggest shareholder with a 19.67% stake. His vehicle, Dominion Nexus Sdn Bhd, had acquired the shares in a direct deal from WCT Capital Sdn Bhd, which is the vehicle of WCT co-founders Peter Taing Kim Hwa and Wong Sewe Wing.
The acquisition price was not disclosed to Bursa Malaysia. However, Bloomberg data shows that several blocks of shares transacted at RM2.50 apiece last Tuesday, representing a premium of 42.85% to the stock’s closing price of RM1.75 that day. At RM2.50 each, the transaction would have cost Lim a total of RM614.3 million.
That's the reason why there's willing buyer and willing seller at RM2.50. Both see a win-win situation for the company.
"While WCT had previously mooted a possible REIT listing of its malls by the end of the year, injecting them into an existing REIT would prove faster and easier to accomplish." and could be at cheaper cost too!
SOP valuations translate into an implied share price of RM2.12 and RM2.38 each. This means Lim may have put a much higher valuation on WCT if he had indeed bought in at RM2.50 apiece on Nov 1.
The huge premium may also represent a carrot to WCT’s co-founders to exit immediately rather than pursue a longer-term, value-unlocking strategy via the original REIT listing proposal.
One possibility is that the RM2.50 share price is the valuation Lim is eyeing when the dust settles on his upcoming plan to unlock value in WCT via Malton and Pavilion REIT. “Of course, there would be concerns [among the minority shareholders] over whether the valuation is fair,” says an analyst.
Sources say following the injection of WCT’s malls into Pavilion REIT, the next step could be to streamline Malton’s construction business into WCT, which is far larger and has an established track record. For perspective, Malton’s market capitalisation as at Nov 3 was RM302.7 million or just under 14% that of WCT.
WCT’s construction order book stands at RM4.28 billion, a quarter of which is from its contracts totalling RM1.1 billion at the Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development project. Its construction arm saw total revenue of RM1.51 billion in the second quarter ended June 30 (2QFY2016), of which 58% were external sales.
In comparison, Malton’s construction arm reported a turnover of RM503.7 million in 2QFY2016 — 57.4% of which was internal, meaning it was undertaking its own construction projects. With a common major shareholder in Lim, these construction jobs are likely to be fed to WCT, boosting the latter’s construction business.
Streamlining the construction businesses under WCT would pave the way for Malton to focus on its property business, which is what the company is primarily known for.
Similarly, WCT’s property division is relatively small compared with its larger operation as a group. In 2QFY2016, this segment accounted for only 14.7% of quarterly group revenue, although its contribution to operating profit was larger at 43.1%.
Analysts generally agree that it is still early days to tell how the minority shareholders will be affected by Lim’s plan.
In a Nov 2 report, AllianceDBS Research says Lim’s emergence has cast uncertainty on the future direction of the company until more details are announced. HLIB echoes the sentiment, saying a potential risk is a significant change in WCT’s strategic direction.
Other analysts, however, feel that Lim’s presence as a shareholder is an upside for WCT, given his successful Pavilion brand name, noted business acumen and reputation for deal-making. For now, this is a space to watch for Corporate Malaysia observers.
the ultimate goal of "business" is to make money for the businessman himself - don't be so naive to think that they will take care the other shareholders pocket. who are you for the businessman to take care of you? you are not even their horses and cows to work for them and milked by them day and night. why should the businessman take care of you?
take the entry price of RM2.50 with a pinch of salt.
Santa arrive early this year. i bought some at RM1.6x and sold all at RM1.9x. i am happy with this early Christmas gift. the rest is pure gambling.
I am nt that naive to sell off all the share. Js sold part of it will do. If suddenly next week jump start or gd announcement where gt bullet to sell. Even if drop also nt afraid cos after selling part of my share my share cost is lower already. Be happy
This Q Core earning about the same at RM21mil after excluding foreign exchange gains of RM3mil.. Last Q core earning RM21mil + foreign exchange gain of RM10+ mil... Oveall, the earning is about the same.. Not too bad...
Good Q3 result - if excluded the unrealised forex, Q to Q and year to year net profit has increased by 204% & 192% (pg 14 of the Q3 report). Hope can claim above RM2 in this week
This book is the result of the author's many years of experience and observation throughout his 26 years in the stockbroking industry. It was written for general public to learn to invest based on facts and not on fantasies or hearsay....
hng33
20,496 posts
Posted by hng33 > 2016-11-17 14:34 | Report Abuse
bought more wct-wd at 28.5sen