Sunway, founded in 1974 as a tin-mining company and controlled by politically well-connected businessman Jeffrey Cheah, is a hugely diversified conglomerate with regional interests in real estate, construction, education, healthcare, hospitality, retail and leisure.
IJM, meanwhile, counts government-linked investment firms holding roughly 45 per cent of its shares — entities that serve as standard-bearers for Malay-majority economic interests.
The company, which has a strong presence in construction and infrastructure development of highways and ports, owns lucrative toll-road concessions, quarrying activities and the manufacture of concrete products.
It also has a sizable landbank of over 3,300 acres in Malaysia with a gross development value of RM41.6 billion, according to the research division of Hong Leong Investment Bank.
Apart from Sunway and IJM, the other big players in the construction and infrastructure development sectors are Gamuda and YTL Corporation, companies which are controlled by ethnic Chinese groups.
HOSTILE BID, BEHIND-THE-SCENES INTRIGUE
Apart from the race debate clouding the Sunway-IJM corporate tango, the proposed deal is also coming under scrutiny by Malaysia’s closely knit business community because of the behind-the-scenes intrigue where politics and business have long intertwined.
“Whenever a takeover bid is unsolicited and takes on a strong political dimension, the likelihood of it getting derailed rises. That is how the Sunway bid for IJM appears to be turning out,” said the CEO of a Kuala Lumpur-based boutique consulting firm, who asked not to be named because he did not want to risk his firm being blackballed from potential advisory work on the Sunway-IJM deal.
A week after Sunway’s takeover offer on Jan 12, IJM became the target of an investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the national tax department, known as LHDN, company executives told CNA on condition of anonymity.
Pressure on IJM intensified last Thursday (Feb 5), when MACC officers turned up at the home of its chairman Krishnan Tan in the port city of Klang, located about 40 km from the capital Kuala Lumpur, at around 6.30 am to detain him for investigations.
A senior MACC official, who confirmed Tan’s detention with CNA, said he was released after more than 12 hours of questioning and that investigations are ongoing. The official declined to elaborate.
A senior Finance Ministry official with direct knowledge of the MACC probe noted that investigations are not related to the Sunway general offer but rather concern the company’s dealings over an investment in the United Kingdom in 2024. The Finance Ministry official declined to elaborate on the overseas investment.
Tan declined requests from CNA to discuss the MACC probe and also Sunway’s bid for IJM.
In a statement issued on Feb 8, Tan said that he has fully cooperated with the authorities.
“At this juncture, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further as investigations are ongoing.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/sunway-bid-us28b-ijm-malaysia-anwar-5923171
