The concession holding companies of LDP, Kesas, Sprint and Smart Tunnel highways have each accepted their conditional letter of offer from Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat (ALR), which wants to takeover the ownership of the highways. Gamuda, the giant behind the four highways, announced that the companies delivered the written acceptances on Monday.
In a filing with Bursa, reported by Bernama, Gamuda said each of the offers has been given by ALR on a standalone basis and is mutually exclusive. “Each concession holding company expects to commence separate negotiations with ALR to finalise the terms and conditions of the respective definitive agreements for the proposed disposals,” it said.
Gamuda said the execution of the definitive agreements by each company with ALR shall be subjected to completion of due diligence exercise on each expressway concession company and approval by relevant regulatory authority for each offer to the satisfaction of ALR.
The agreements are also subjected to the execution by each company based on terms and conditions to be approved by ALR, approval of an income tax exemption and stamp duty exemption from the government and the requisite shareholders’ approvals of the respective shareholders.
Earlier this month, Gamuda received the offer for ALR to acquire its stake in the four companies – which is 70% in Kesas, 51.6% in Sprint; 43.2% in Litrak (LDP) and 50% in Smart – for a total of RM2.33 billion. The total enterprise value is RM5.48 billion. Separately, Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor (KPS) said that its 20% associated company, Sprint Holdings, has accepted the ALR offer.
Before this, Gamuda’s deputy group MD Mohammed Rashdan Mohd Yusof said that Klang Valley motorists stand to save RM5 billion from the government’s proposal to restructure the four toll concessions, which includes the promise of no toll fare hikes for the rest of the concession periods. It’s a win-win, as Putrajaya will also save at least RM4.3 billion of compensation to highway operators when scheduled toll fare hikes don’t happen.
The Gamuda exec also says that the proposal will also see the shortening of concession periods, as ALR is obligated to redeem its funding (sukuk) as soon as it can, returning ownership of the four highway concessions to the government after.
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who owns it doesn’t matter to us. what’s important is toll fare/ abolish for the ppl.
I can assume amanah lebuhraya uses our tax payers money, or borrow from bank, to buy over the concessions.
Which means it belongs to the gomen, which collect taxes from us.
Charging toll after taking over is like double taxation.
Nope. As explained before, which you probably refused to read before you comment, it is a private venture funded trough raising of sukuk capital.
https://paultan.org/2022/04/04/govt-to-restructure-kesas-ldp-sprint-smart-highway-concessions-alr-takeover-saves-rm4-3b-in-subsidies/
Brian, dont assume people are stupid. There is an extension of concession element in this, effectively people are paying longer than they should although paying lower rate. Its a zero sum game, you cannot create value out of thin air!
And so? What about the current deal that is also extended umpteen times to cater for toll hike freezes? You think this deal is a better deal when all that money goes into shareholder pockets? Perhaps you assume people are stupid.
At least with ALR people are no longer paying for shareholder dividends, the extension will be for the highway, whatever proceeds from your toll payment will be put back into the highway and not into shareholders, ALR has committed to be a not for profit venture so unlike current deals, ALR will not pay a single sen of dividend.
The beauty of it? We all won’t pay anymore toll hikes. If your a regular user like me, you’d appreciate the certainty of expense from not having to worry about toll increases.
Be glad we have this once in a lifetime deal, as it is far better deal than what we have currently and the stupidly biased to operator and all risks to rakyat deal propounded by PH then.
Raj, open your mind a bit. This agreement is still a lot better than that deal
https://paultan.org/2018/12/27/government-to-pay-rm994-43-mil-to-freeze-toll-hikes-abolish-motorcycle-tolls-for-2019/