GDB plans placing out 10% of its shares to raise RM39 mil for working capital

• The shares will be issued at 41.9 sen apiece, raising approximately RM39.28 million to fund the group’s working capital, GDB said in a Bursa Malaysia filing.

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 7): Construction firm GDB Holdings Bhd (KL:GDB) has proposed a private placement of 93.75 million new shares, representing about 10% of its issued share capital, to independent third party investors Datuk Seri Chan Leng Sam and Datuk Seri Voon Thien Loong.

The shares will be issued at 41.9 sen apiece, raising approximately RM39.28 million to fund the group’s working capital, GDB said in a Bursa Malaysia filing.

Chan and Voon, both active in businesses spanning plantations, construction and food and beverage, are not existing shareholders of GDB. Neither has family ties or conflicts of interest with GDB, its directors or shareholders, and neither holds directorships or substantial stakes in any other Bursa-listed company, said GDB.

The subscription price reflects a discount of about 4.65 sen or 9.99% to the five-day volume-weighted average market price (VWAMP) of GDB shares.

Following the exercise, GDB’s enlarged share capital will rise from 937.5 million to 1.03 billion shares, with net assets increasing from RM195.18 million to RM234.2 million. Net asset per share will improve from 21 sen to 23 sen.

GDB said of the gross proceeds, RM39.02 million will be allocated to three ongoing development projects, namely Kuala Lumpur International Hospital @ KL Wellness City in Bukit Jalil, Logistic Hub Plot B in Shah Alam and Metrohub 4 Logistic Hub in Klang.

Funds may also be channelled to future infrastructure-related projects, covering payments to suppliers and subcontractors as well as procurement of construction materials.

As at end-June, GDB’s order book stood at RM990 million. The group said it has submitted tenders worth RM1.2 billion and plans to bid for another RM1.8 billion by the fourth quarter of 2025, spanning commercial, residential, mixed-use, healthcare and warehousing projects.

“The group continues to actively pursue new contract opportunities to capitalise on improving market conditions in the building construction sector,” it said.

The private placement is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year. 

Shares of GDB closed unchanged at 44.5 sen on Tuesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM417.19 million. The counter has risen over 23% year to date.

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