KHAZANAH Nasional Bhd has raised RM736 million from a placement of 172 million shares at RM4.27 per share in Telekom Malaysia Bhd.

The placement price represents a 3.61% discount to the closing market price of RM4.43 on May 21, 2020, the sovereign wealth fund said in a statement today.

The proceeds raised from the largest telecommunications-related placement in Malaysia – and the third largest in Southeast Asia so far this year—will be used for new investments.

“The share placement exercise is part of the ongoing restructuring of Khazanah’s overall portfolio, with the proceeds to be utilised for future new investments and the diversification of Khazanah’s asset allocation,” it said.

“With strong market demand for the Malaysian blue-chip company, the share placement allows Khazanah to increase the free float and attractiveness of TM as an investment,” it added.

CIMB and Credit Suisse were joint bookrunners for the placement, which saw the participation of domestic long-only funds, and foreign and existing institutional investors, with domestic institutional investors making up the majority of the buyers. – May 22, 2020.