KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 — The proposed listing of a combined SapuraCrest and Kencana Petroleum Bhd has been delayed to end-March or early April, a source told Reuters today.

The planned merger of the oil and gas services firms, the largest in the Malaysian oil and gas sector, was scheduled to list the combined entity by end-February, but has been delayed because the companies are awaiting court approval on certain aspects of the deal.

“We are still waiting for the high court to approve some outstanding processes for the merger to go ahead,” said the source, who could not be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

“The repayment schedule for the loan that Kencana needs to take to buy back the shares for the entity to be delisted has not gone to the court yet,” the source added. He declined to specify how large a loan Kencana needs for the deal.

It is a common procedure in Malaysia for companies to seek court approval for repayment schedules on share buybacks.

The merger, once completed, will allow both firms to compete against regional heavyweights and comes at a time when the southeast Asian country’s state oil firm, Petronas, is aggressively developing its domestic oil assets.

The subsequent listing of the merged entity is expected to create a company with a market capitalisation of more than RM10 billion, the source said.

Kencana Petroleum and SapuraCrest officials were not immediately available for comment. — Reuters