UEM Land-Sunrise merger unravelled

IT's a well-dressed deal, this planned takeover by government-linked UEM Land Holdings Bhd of builder Sunrise Bhd. Accompanied by a cavalcade of rosy numbers and promises that the merged entity will become one of the "leading real estate company by market value, land bank and total assets", not just in Malaysia but the region, the psychology behind the deal is hard to fault.

The truth, however, as analysts and thick-walleted bankers would tell you, rests in the numbers and, of course, execution. And as far as that's concerned, for now, the views appear as varied and divergent as the corporate cultures of UEM Land and Sunrise.