Sime Darby Berhad (Sime Darby) today announced that its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Sime Darby Nominees Sendirian Berhad has entered into a share sale agreement with Amazing Parade Sdn Bhd to divest its 10.89 per cent stake in Eastern & Oriental Berhad (E&O) for RM93.5 million.
The carrying value of the E&O investment in Sime Darby’s balance sheet is RM72.0 million, as at 31 December 2020.
“Our stake in E&O has been earmarked for divestment since the completion of our pure play exercise in 2017, and this transaction provided us an opportunity to divest, considering the current uncertain outlook of the property sector. This disposal joins our list of non-core assets divestment, which is part of our Value Creation Strategy,” said Sime Darby’s Group Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson.
The disposal of Sime Darby’s investment in E&O follows two recent divestment of other non-core assets over the past year, namely the disposal of its stake in Tesco Malaysia and its three Jining river ports in Shandong, China.