by M. JAY SHEILA

DUAL-listed  OM Holdings Ltd (OMH) now fully owns its flagship smelter in Bintulu, Sarawak, after paying US$120 million (about RM528 million) to Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMSB)’s unit for the remaining 25% stake in the smelter.

In an exchange filing yesterday, OMH said its wholly-owned subsidiary OM Materials (S) Pte Ltd has completed the acquisition of the remaining 25% interest in OM Materials (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd and OM Materials (Samalaju) Sdn Bhd.

OMH is a vertically integrated manganese ore and ferroalloy company engaged in the business of trading raw ores, smelting, and marketing of processed ferroalloys.

The ferroalloy smelting group announced that OM Materials entered into a conditional share purchase agreement with Samalaju Industries Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMSB, in June 2022, with all conditions precedent satisfied on Sept 15, 2022.

The acquisition was funded through a combination of existing cash reserves, private bond issuances and operating cash flows, it said.

Commenting on the completion of the acquisition, OMH executive chairman and CEO Low Ngee Tong said it was an important part of the company’s strategy to continue re-investing in the Sarawak smelter plant and will allow it to be more agile and decisive in its growth plans.

“We thank CMS for their past contributions as partners in this project during its development,” he said.

OMH now owns 100% of the equity interest in both OM Sarawak and OM Samalaju through OMS, according to OMH.

OMH shares opened unchanged and thinly traded at RM2.06, valuing the group at RM1.52 billion.