KUCHING: The controlling shareholders of Kim Hin Industry Bhd plan to proceed with their privatisation bid for the ceramic tile manufacturer if they manage to raise their stake beyond 75 per cent of the company’s total issued shares but fall short of the 90 per cent threshold required for compulsory acquisition.
According to the offer document issued by UOB Kay Hian (M) Sdn Bhd (UOBKH), the principal adviser to the joint offerors, any potential privatisation at that level would be pursued through an appropriate route, subject to the joint offerors — Kim Hin (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (KHSB) and Chua Seng Huat — securing the necessary financing.
On July 4, the joint offerors launched an unconditional voluntary takeover bid to acquire the remaining 52.94 million Kim Hin shares (37.75 per cent of total issued shares) not already held by them, at 85 sen per share.
The offer price represents an 84.78 per cent premium over the last traded price of 46 sen before the stock was suspended.
At the time of the offer, the joint offerors collectively owned 62.38 per cent of Kim Hin, or 87.47 million shares, excluding treasury shares.
With 1.2 per cent held by persons acting in concert (PACs), their total shareholding stood at 63.58 per cent.
On July 21, Chua acquired an additional 170,000 shares at 85 sen apiece from the open market.
Meanwhile, businessman Dato Chew Chiaw Ann emerged as a substantial shareholder a week earlier, having bought 9.41 million shares (6.05 per cent) from the market.
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has since cleared the offer document with no further comments as of July 24.
Shareholders have until August 15, 2025 to accept or reject the offer.
Independent adviser NewParadigm Securities Sdn Bhd, appointed by Kim Hin’s board, is expected to release its circular to non-interested directors and minority shareholders by August 4.
UOBKH has advised shareholders to carefully consider the independent adviser’s recommendations before deciding.
The offer period may be extended beyond August 15, with any new closing date to be announced at least two days in advance.
Should the joint offerors receive acceptances that push their holding to 90 per cent or more, Kim Hin will trigger a mandatory delisting process.
Bursa Securities will suspend trading in Kim Hin shares five market days after the closing date, and the company will initiate steps to withdraw its listing.
UOBKH said delisting would allow the joint offerors greater flexibility to restructure Kim Hin’s operations and pursue cost rationalisation and efficiency improvements.
However, the joint offerors stressed that no immediate asset sales or redeployment of fixed assets are planned, and any restructuring remains preliminary.
Kim Hin manufactures and distributes ceramic floor, homogeneous, and monoporosa tiles, and is also involved in building material trading and property investment.
The group operates in Malaysia, China, Australia, and Vietnam.
The company has posted losses for seven consecutive years up to 2024, weighed down by a sluggish property market across its key regions.
Kim Hin’s shares have been thinly traded, with a simple average monthly volume of 227,461 shares over the 12 months to June 2025 — a liquidity turnover of just 0.44 per cent.
