UTUSAN Melayu (M) Berhad (Utusan) is disposing of its 70% stake in its wholly-owned subsidiary Dilof Sdn Bhd to Aurora Mulia Sdn Bhd, a company said to be linked to tycoon Syed Mokhtar Syed Al-Bukhary, Utusan Malaysia reported today.

Dilof holds the printing permit for Utusan Malaysia and Kosmo newspapers.

The transaction was believed to have been made a few weeks after Aurora Mulia upped its stake in Media Prima, in which it is the majority shareholder.

In July, the company acquired Umno’s 11.09 % stake in Media Prima, which was held under proxy by Gabungan Kesturi.

Aurora Mulia upped its stake in Media Prima to 31.22% last month after acquiring another 7.9% through direct business transaction from an unnamed seller.

Meanwhile, Utusan said the disposal of the majority stake is necessary to ensure the continuity of the two mainstream Malay-language newspapers, in view of the company’s financial situation.

“This is to ensure that the 80-year-old Utusan does not cease its operations and the 15-year-old Kosmo can continue,” read the report, quoting a statement from the Utusan group.

Aurora Mulia’s presence will allow Utusan, which is plagued by cash flow problems to sustain Dilof and continue publishing the two newspapers through a potential injection of funds.

Aurora Mulia was chosen given its position as the majority shareholder of Media Prima Berhad.

The deal will set the tone for consolidating the printing, distribution and advertising units of several mainstream newspapers nationwide.

Syed Danial Syed Mokhtar Shah, the son of Syed Mokhtar is named as one of the directors of Aurora Mulia.

Dilof was set up by Utusan chairman Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir on August 23, 2018, before it became a subsidiary of the publishing group on August 26.

Utusan Melayu also took over Utusan Digital Sdn Bhd on the same day.

The acquisition was made four days before the group was de-listed from Bursa Malaysia. – October 7, 2019.