Selangor water deal completed with final payment of RM1.55bil

(The Star) – The Selangor government, through Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor), has met the Oct 15 deadline to take over the state’s entire water industry. On Thursday it paid off the outstanding purchase price of RM1.554bil for Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas).

Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd (PNHB) told Bursa Malaysia that the company had on Thursday received the balance and hence the proposed disposals of its two subsidiaries had been completed.

“Accordingly, Puncak Niaga and Syabas shall cease to be a subsidiary and joint-venture company of PNHB group respectively with effect from Oct 15, 2015.” it said.

PNHB owns 100% equity interest in Puncak Niaga and 70% in Syabas.

On Sept 14, PNHB had agreed to the eighth and final extension of the stop date (to Oct 15) for the completion of the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Air Selangor.

The conclusion to the water deal, which marks the consolidation of the Selangor water industry, has been a long time coming. PNHB signed a conditional SPA to sell the company’s water assets in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya to Air Selangor for RM1.55bil in November last year, but the state’s water restructuring had hit a snag since 2008 due to various disagreements between the state and federal governments.

PNHB shares closed unchanged on Thursday at RM2.87, with 1.397 million shares changing hands.