SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian palm oil firm Kuala Lumpur Kepong is buying a stake of more than 30% in smaller peer Boustead Plantations from conglomerate Boustead Holdings, local media The Edge and New Straits Times reported on Thursday.
Shares of Boustead Plantations, which has a market capitalisation of 3 billion ringgit ($646.27 million), were suspended from trading on Thursday pending an announcement.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined to comment. Boustead Plantations and Boustead Holdings did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment from Reuters.
According to Refinitiv data, Boustead Holdings owns a 57.4% stake in Boustead Plantations, followed by Boustead Holdings’ parent Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera, Malaysia’s military pension fund, with a 10.6% stake.
Shares of Boustead Plantations have jumped 112.4% year-to-date.
($1 = 4.6420 ringgit)
(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore and A. Ananthalakshmi in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Sonali Paul)