Naza duo offer to buy out K. Jetson for RM37m

Group CEO and group managing director of Naza TTDI are offering to buy Kumpulan Jetson shares at 70 sen apiece and the warrants at 6.5 sen each

Two top executives of the Naza group, the country's biggest privately-held carmaker, have made an offer to take full control of Kumpulan Jetson Bhd in a deal valued at about RM37 million.

The duo are SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, group chief executive officer, and SM Faliq SM Nasimuddin, group managing director of Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd.

They are offering to buy Kumpulan Jetson shares at 70 sen apiece and the warrants at 6.5 sen each.

Kumpulan Jetson shares, which were traded for 43 seconds before being suspended yesterday, closed 2 sen higher at 73.5 sen. The warrants closed untraded at 12 sen

The 70 sen a share offer is a steep discount to Kumpulan Jetson's net tangible asset of RM1.54 a share as at June 30 this year.

The two brothers made the offer via Superior Pavillion Sdn Bhd, which emerged on Wednesday as a substantial shareholder in Kumpulan Jetson, owning some 33.15 per cent of the company.

The offer to take full control of Kumpulan Jetson is being done with the help of Odyssey Wealth Sdn Bhd, which is controlled by Soh Kim Hock.

The brothers later issued a statement to distance the Naza group from the deal.

"We wish to clarify that the said transaction is being undertaken in a purely personal capacity," Nasarudin and Faliq said.

The offer for Kumpulan Jetson comes after failed attempts over the past five years to take over DRB-HICOM Bhd and Proton Holdings Bhd.

Last year, the group also postponed a plan to sell shares in Naza TTDI to the public.

However, the Naza group might still proceed with the property listing and choose to inject its automotive assets into Kumpulan Jetson at a later date.

Although Kumpulan Jetson is commonly referred to as a construction outfit, its major revenue driver is its manufacturing business.

In the financial year ended December 31 2008, Kumpulan Jetson posted group sales of RM113.88 million. Out of this, RM92.82 million was contributed by its manufacturing unit.

Kumpulan Jetson's manufacturing unit is spearheaded by the 100 per cent-owned Kumpulan Jebco (M) Sdn Bhd, which registered sales of RM68.4 million, according to its annual report.

The polymers Kumpulan Jebco manufactures are high-performance rubber, plastic and polyurethane offering anti-vibration solution to the automotive, rail and agricultural sectors.

Kumpulan Jebco aims to have manufacturing facilities in India and China in addition to sales offices and warehouses in Europe and the US by next year, it said on its website.

Last week, Kumpulan Jebco entered into a US$3 million (RM10.6 million) joint venture with China-based Weihai Xin San Yuan Electronic Device Assemble Co Ltd (Sinsamwon) and Hong Kong-based Huge Jet Ltd to form a company called Sinn Jebco.

Sinn Jebco, in which Kumpulan Jebco has a 40 per cent stake, will make shock absorbers, rubber pads and parts for transport vehicles, among other things.