Pimpinan Ehsan to acquire renewable energy firm for RM373m

Pimpinan Ehsan to acquire renewable energy firm for RM373m

24 May 2021

Pimpinan Ehsan Bhd (PEB), which had requested its stock be halted from trading today, is acquiring renewable energy (RE) company reNIKOLA Holdings Sdn Bhd for RM373 million.

In a filing with the bourse, the company said it has entered into a conditional share sale agreement (SSA) with reNIKOLA Sdn Bhd, Boumhidi Abdelali and Tengku Zaiton Sultan Abu Bakar for the acquisition of the entire stake in reNIKOLA Holdings.

The RM373 million consideration will be satisfied by issuance of new PEB shares at RM1.07 per share.

“We have been working hard towards inking the SSA for the past many months. The proposed acquisition provides PEB an immediate entry point into the renewable energy industry given the expansive track record and large-scale solar assets.

“It marks a major leap forward in transforming the company into a leading renewable energy provider in the country,” said PEB executive director Lim Beng Guan.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Lim said the company will be focusing on a new identity for PEB, with the company to aggressively expand in the RE sector, adding that PEB aims to own and operate one gigawatt of RE assets in the future.

The company has assembled a new board of directors comprising industry experts in energy, financing, as well as environmental, social and governance.

Boumhidi, who is managing director of reNikola, said the company is pleased to be a part of PEB’s transformation into a pure RE company.

“There are a lot of opportunities we can capitalise on in the RE sector as it is still in early stages with high growth potential.

“The rising demand for clean energy amongst the multinational companies, coupled with the rollout of government-backed programmes are set to stimulate growth in the domestic market,” he said.

Lim and Boumhidi are deemed interested parties as both currently sit on the board of PEB and are vendors under the SSA.

The proposed acquisition is subject to the obtaining of approvals from the Securities Commission Malaysia, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the Energy Commission, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Bursa Malaysia as well as PEB’s non-interested shareholders.

It expects to complete the exercise by the first quarter of 2022.

PEB shares were last traded at RM1.64 apiece, giving a market capitalisation of RM113.37 million.

Source: The Edge Markets