MMC Mulls Reviving $1 Billion Malaysian Port Assets IPO

(Bloomberg) -- MMC Corp., a Malaysian utility and infrastructure group, is reviving an initial public offering plan for its port assets, which could be the biggest listing in the Southeast Asian nation since 2012, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Kuala Lumpur-listed company, controlled by Malaysian tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, is seeking to raise about $1 billion from the first-time share sale, the people said, who asked not to be identified as the process is private. The firm is in talks with potential advisers and a listing could take place as early as the end of next year, the people said.

Deliberations are at an early stage and details of the offering including size and timeline could still change, the people said. A representative for MMC didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

MMC owns ports including Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port in the southern state of Johor and Northport in the central Selangor state as well as Penang Port, north of Kuala Lumpur, according to its website. MMC’s Group Managing Director Che Khalib Mohamad Noh told reporters in 2017 that the company was planning to list its port unit in 2018 or in early 2019.

At $1 billion, the IPO would be the biggest in Malaysia since Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd. raised $1.47 billion in 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

MMC Port would be joining Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care Sdn. and credit reporting agency CTOS Holdings Sdn. as well as glove makers Harps Holdings Sdn. and Smart Glove Corp. in considering an IPO in Malaysia in 2021. These potential deals are expected to give a boost to the Southeast Asian nation’s first-time share sale market, which hosted $477 million of IPOs so far this year.

Besides ports, MMC also has controlling interests in the country’s largest independent power producer Malakoff Corp. and Gas Malaysia Bhd., according to its website.

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