Ivory to sell land in Penang for RM150mil

PETALING JAYA: Ivory Properties Group Bhd is planning to dispose 21.78ha of freehold land in Penang to Jesselton Peak Sdn Bhd for RM150mil.

According to a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Ivory Indah Sdn Bhd (IISB), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ivory Properties, has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Jesselton Peak for the disposal of the land.

It said that the land was presently charged to CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd to secure the banking facilities granted by CIMB to IISB.

Ivory Properties said the proceeds from the proposed disposal are expected to be used for the settlement of bank borrowings from CIMB and working capital.

As of Sept 30, 2014, Ivory Properties had a net gearing of 0.84 times, with total debt of RM318.3mil. It expects the proposed disposal to be completed by December 2016 and subject to its shareholders’ approval, which is to be obtained from an EGM.

Ivory Properties said it had acquired the land back in August 2007 for RM53mil.

“The disposal will result in a gain of about RM38mil or 8.53 sen per share for the group,” it added. The proposed disposal is expected to have no material effect on the net assets of the Ivory Group, save for a gain on disposal as mentioned above. 

“The group’s finance costs will be reduced due to the utilisation of the proceeds raised from the disposal for the repayment of bank borrowings and the gearing ratio is expected to be further improved accordingly,” it elaborated.

Ivory Properties closed two sen or 4.9% higher at 43 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM189.35mil. - The Star