IJM: MACC probe into Sunway takeover offer concluded as 'no further action'

KUALA LUMPUR (May 15): IJM Corp Bhd (KL:IJM) said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) probe involving its chairman Tan Sri Krishnan Tan in relation to Sunway Bhd’s (KL:SUNWAY) takeover offer had been completed and classified as “no further action”.

In a bourse filing, the construction and infrastructure giant said Tan had notified the company on Friday that the MACC, had, via a letter dated April 30, "confirmed to him that the investigation relating to the voluntary takeover offer by Sunway had been completed and classified as 'no further action’".

Accordingly, no further proceedings or prosecution will be pursued, IJM added.

The MACC’s probe into the takeover offer was first made public on March 4, when then MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said an investigation paper had been opened on Sunway's takeover offer for IJM after receiving reports on the proposed deal.

At the time, Azam said the commission was looking at whether there were elements of "corruption, abuse of power or violations of governance" in the matter. His tenure as MACC chief ended earlier this week, with former High Court judge Datuk Seri Abdul Halim Aman succeeding him.

Sunway’s bid to takeover IJM failed in April, after it failed to secure the required 50% stake by the close of the offer. Its cash-and-share offer to acquire IJM was launched on Jan 12, valuing the property and infrastructure group at RM3.15 per share, or about RM11 billion.

The probe into the proposed Sunway deal coincided with the start of the anti-graft agency's IJM-linked investigations into alleged money laundering and lapses in corporate governance and procurement processes. The probe led to a raid on IJM's offices in January and the freezing of several bank accounts.

Subsequently, IJM said in late March that the MACC had clarified that its probe was confined to "individuals associated with IJM, and not the company itself". Shortly after, Sunway said it had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the MACC in its takeover offer for IJM.

Shares of IJM ended unchanged at RM2.18 on Friday, valuing the group at RM7.95 billion. Sunway closed one sen lower at RM5.46, for a market capitalisation of RM37.16 billion.

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