Sizing up Sime Darby’s demerger

Regional flavour: Sime Darby will retain the trading and logistics businesses which are concentrated on the distribution and selling of motor vehicles as well as heavy equipment.

Sime Darby Bhd’s EGM to approve the demerger process on Nov 20 will be a bittersweet day for shareholders. The meeting will essentially be the last time the century-old conglomerate will exist as a holding company having direct stakes in businesses that run oil palm plantations to operating hospitals.

On the other hand, should shareholders approve the demerger, that will see Sime Darby being split into three companies. That is guaranteed to happen since majority shareholder Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), which is driving the process, is allowed to vote.