Mudajaya

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not vested

Fairfax emerges as major shareholder in Mudajaya
Tuesday, 28 October 2014

PETALING JAYA: Canadian insurer Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (FFHL) and its subsidiaries have emerged as substantial shareholders in Mudajaya Group Bhd with a 5.2% stake.

Companies related to FFHL, namely, FFHL Group Ltd, Fairfax Asia Ltd, Fairfax (Barbados) International Corp (FBIC) and United States-based Odyssey Reinsurance Company, have emerged as substantial shareholders in the construction player by owning 27.98 million shares or a 5.2% stake as at yesterday.

In a statement, Mudajaya said: “Fairfax Financial Holdings is the sole owner of FFHL Group, which is, in turn, the sole owner of FBIC.

“FBIC, in turn, owns 83.72% of Fairfax Asia, while the remaining 16.28% stake is held by Odyssey.”

The shares were held through Fairfax’s subsidiaries, namely, First Capital Insurance Ltd, Falcon Insurance Company (Hong Kong) Ltd, The Pacific Insurance Bhd and Wentworth Insurance Company Ltd, it added.

FFHL is a financial services holding company with a market capitalisation of C$11.61bil (RM33.77bil) that provides investment management and insurance claims management services.

US-based BlackRock Advisors LLC is also a substantial shareholder with 351.05 million shares or a 65.21% stake in Mudajaya.

Based on Bloomberg data, other funds that are invested in Mudajaya include Lembaga Tabung Haji with 10.01%, Credit Suisse with 2.97%, Global Investment Ltd with 2.97%, Straits Global Ltd with 2.82%, and Celadon Green Ltd with 2.23%.

StarBiz had reported that Mudajaya, alongside its French partner, was a frontrunner to get a long-term concession with 1Malaysia Development Bhd to supply the central cooling system for the Tun Razak Exchange.

The potential value of the contract, which could be on a build-own-operate basis, was said to be worth about RM100mil.

In a previous interview, its group managing director and chief executive Anto Joseph had said that the company was going through a transition period and that it was looking at boosting its recurring income from the [b]power-generation business[/b].

In the longer term, it hopes to monetise its utility assets via a Utility Real Estate Investment Trust.

Analysts tracking the counter had “hold” calls on the company with a consensus target price of RM2.22, Bloomberg data showed.

In a recent report, Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said it was concerned about Mudajaya’s thinning orderbook of RM750mil and delays in the Chhattisgarh independent power plant in India.

Year-to-date, the share price of the company has fallen 28.28%, with its current price-to-earnings registering at 12.36 times.

The counter traded two sen lower to close at RM2.08, with 697,900 shares changing hands. Its market cap stood at RM1.12bil.

Source: The Star