PETALING JAYA: After a failed attempt five years ago, the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) is taking another shot to privatise FGV Holdings Bhd
in a move that could cost Felda more than RM600mil.
Felda is offering to buy out minority shareholders at RM1.30 per share – the same price offered in the failed takeover attempt in 2020.
A fund manager told Starbiz that shareholders should not expect a better offer and may be better off cashing out.
“I think there’s no point holding out for a better offer simply because even if there is a better offer in place, it will be a very limited upside anyway,” he said.
“So, cashing out and then moving on to the next stock or investment would be wiser because there are a lot of opportunities also in the market now.”
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Felda announced its unconditional voluntary takeover offer to acquire all remaining shares in plantation giant FGV that it and its parties acting in concert (PAC) do not already own.
As at May 20, Felda and its PAC controlled 86.93% of FGV’s shares – just shy of the 90% threshold required to trigger a mandatory delisting under Bursa Malaysia’s rules. Felda’s latest takeover offer targets the remaining 13.07% stake or 476.9 million shares. Based on the offer price of RM1.30 per share, the exercise is valued at about RM620mil.
Currently, Felda alone directly holds 2.54 billion shares in FGV, or 69.5%. It also holds an indirect stake of 452.9 million shares, or 12.42%, through its wholly owned subsidiary Felda Asset Holdings Company Sdn Bhd, which is one of the PACs. This brings Felda’s total stake to 81.92%.
Including other PACs, namely, the Pahang state government (5%), Koperasi Kakitangan Felda Malaysia Bhd (0.01%), and Felda board member Sulong Jamil Mohamed Shariff and his wife Salina Samsudin (negligible stakes), Felda and its PAC collectively control 86.93% of FGV’s share base.
Should Felda receive valid acceptances that push its shareholding past the 90% mark, it will initiate a delisting of FGV from the Main Market. “The offeror does not intend to maintain the listing status of the offeree on the Main Market,” Maybank Investment Bank Bhd, on behalf of Felda, noted in the statement.
This marks Felda’s second attempt to privatise FGV, after its first effort in December 2020 fell short. Back then, Felda triggered a mandatory general offer at RM1.30 per share but failed to cross the 90% ownership threshold required to initiate a compulsory acquisition and delisting.
Since then, Felda has steadily increased its stake in FGV, but in 2021, its holding pushed the plantation group below Bursa Malaysia’s minimum public shareholding spread requirement of 25%. More recently, in March 2025, Bursa Malaysia rejected FGV’s application for an extension to restore its public spread.
This prompted Felda to make a fresh offer – a move aimed at resolving the prolonged non-compliance while bringing the group fully under government control.
Trading of FGV shares was suspended yesterday.
The plantation giant is valued at RM4.7bil based on its last traded price of RM1.28 per share. A fund manager noted that the offer price is only slightly above FGV’s current trading level, suggesting Felda isn’t aiming to offer a significant premium.
“For them to issue it at the same price, it means that to them, they view this as the maximum amount that they are willing to pay,” he said.
He added that once privatised, Felda would need to do a “lot of housecleaning” to make sure the company can stand on its own without the demands of being a listed entity.
