Prestariang sells education unit to Serba Dinamik

Prestariang president and group CEO Dr Abu Hasan Ismail says the disposal is part of the company's rationalisation plans to improve cash flow and working capital

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) Prestariang Bhd is selling its boutique university which is owned and operated by its unit, Prestariang Education Sdn Bhd, to Serba Dinamik Group Bhd (SDGB) for RM2.5mil.

The disposal is part of Prestariang’s rationalisation plans to improve cash flow and working capital, while resetting the business to return to profitability.

In a joint statement here, the companies said a conditional share sale agreement was sealed today for SDGB to acquire University Malaysia of Computer Science and Engineering (UNIMY) owned by Prestariang Education.

Prestariang has earlier announced a proposed private placement of up to 10% of its issued shares to raise up to RM19.3mil.

Bursa Malaysia had on Feb 20, 2020 approved the listing of and quotation of up to 48.23 million placement shares to be issued pursuant to the proposed private placement.

"We’ve embarked on a rationalisation plan that includes monetising assets that are non-cash generating, so that we can reallocate the resources to strengthen our profitable business.

"Coupled with the private placement of shares, this divestment will put the group on a stronger financial footing,” Prestariang president and group chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Abu Hasan Ismail said.

UNIMY has so far produced 146 graduates.

The proposed disposal of Prestariang Education to SDGB is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of this year.

The statement noted that the acquisition of a tertiary educational institute will allow SDGB to accelerate the expansion of its education and training business unit, which leverages on the oil and gas services and engineering firm’s industrial experience to design training curriculum specifically for the industry.

The unit has already partnered with The City & Guilds Institute of London to offer education certificates here.

UNIMY’s information and communications technology (ICT) focus will also complement SDGB’s IT solutions business, which develops software packages for industrial applications.

"Highly specialised skilled force is a very important element for the development of our industries in the oil and gas and power sector,” Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd group managing director and CEO Datuk Dr Ir Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah said.

He said this acquisition will give tremendous edge in research and development.

SDGB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serba Dinamik Holdings.