KUALA LUMPUR – The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has reportedly declined Sunway Bhd’s takeover offer for its stake in IJM Corp Bhd, becoming the second major government-linked investment fund to reject the proposal after Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB).
According to NST Online, an unnamed source said EPF, which holds a 20.52% stake in IJM, decided against accepting the offer, following PNB’s earlier move to reject the bid for its 13.3% shareholding.
PNB had announced on March 16 that its investment committee chose not to proceed with the offer, citing IJM’s intrinsic value and its stronger long-term upside compared with Sunway’s proposed share consideration.
Other institutional shareholders in IJM include Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Diperbadankan, which owns 9.26%, and Lembaga Tabung Haji with a 1.41% stake.
An independent advice circular issued by M&A Securities Sdn Bhd on March 13 had also concluded that the offer was “not fair and not reasonable”, recommending that IJM shareholders reject it.
Sunway first tabled its conditional voluntary takeover offer on January 12, proposing RM3.15 per IJM share through a mix of cash and share swap.
Under the structure, 10% of the consideration would be paid in cash, while the remaining 90% would be settled in Sunway shares priced at RM5.65 each.
The bid comes despite IJM maintaining a sizeable RM15.3 billion order book as at end-December 2025, alongside RM2.3 billion in cash reserves, although the group has lagged behind peers such as Gamuda Bhd and Sunway Construction Bhd in market performance.
Sources previously told The Edge that EPF’s investment committee had recently reviewed the offer and concluded that the price did not adequately reflect IJM’s underlying worth.
“The committee felt that the offer did not value the potential of IJM and the possibility of the monetization of assets. The committee also felt that the EPF, being the single largest shareholder in IJM, should be able to do more to extract value from its investments in the construction giant,” a source was quoted as saying.
On March 27, EPF formally abstained from voting on Sunway’s proposed acquisition during the company’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM), citing its shareholdings in both Sunway and IJM.
A notice on EPF’s website recorded its decision on the conditional voluntary takeover as “abstained”, with the shareholder meeting having taken place on March 26, 2026.
Despite the abstention, Sunway won near-unanimous support from its shareholders, with 99.97% voting in favour of the acquisition.
Founder and chairman Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had officially cleared the company of any wrongdoing linked to the transaction.
“Almost all shareholders present at the meeting voted to proceed with the takeover offer,” Cheah said in a press conference.
“We have also received a letter from the MACC confirming that there is no investigation against our board in connection with the proposed deal.”
Sunway’s offer covers all 3.51 billion IJM shares, with the acceptance period scheduled to close on April 6.
Earlier this month, PNB, the second-largest shareholder with a 13.5% stake, also rejected the proposal. However, the overwhelming support secured at the EGM means the acquisition process is set to proceed.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki had earlier confirmed that the anti-graft agency was reviewing the takeover, particularly over possible bribery and corporate governance concerns. – March 30, 2026