EON Capital Spurns Hong Leong Bank’s Offer
EON Capital has rejected Hong Leong Bank’s RM4.9b offer. The offer is not in the interest of the group and its shareholders, EON Capital said in a filing to the stock exchange yesterday that the unsolicited proposal will not be presented to shareholders. “This undervalued acquisition bid does not account for EON’s significant recent and projected growth, underpinned by the company’s recently completed transformation programme,” EON Capital’s chairman Tan Sri Syed Anwar Jamalullail said in a press statement.

In a broker’s call, Hwang-DBS Vickers Research thinks there is still chance EON Capital’s shareholders could convene special meeting to vote against Board’s decision on basis that shareholders should have been given the option to decide on the offer, which could then force the board to re-evaluate Hong Leong Bank’s proposal. “While the exclusive talks between EON Capital and Hong Leong Bank has lapsed, we understand that the approval granted by Bank Negara to Hong Leong Bank to negotiate with EON Cap’s shareholders still holds,” the brokerage firm said.

London Biscuits Acquires Poultry Firm
London Biscuits has signed a deal to buy 32% of Main Market-listed poultry firm TPC Plus for RM7.6m cash to secure egg supply and expand its distribution network. “London Biscuits will benefit from cost-savings and consistent supply of quality eggs as well as a platform to develop and market new product varieties,” CEO Datuk Seri Liew Yew Chung said in a statement yesterday.

KUB Malaysia Awarded RM29.8m Contract From Ministry
KUB Malaysia’s unit KUB Telekomunikasi was awarded RM29.8m contract by Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture Malaysia to upgrade Digital TV Playout Centre for RTM. The contract, though small, has pretty good margins and reinforces the company’s move to focus on IT related businesses, according to a broker interviewed by Dow Jones Newswire. With the economy expected to recover firmly this year, KUB will show further improvement in earnings in 2010.