SINGAPORE, Nov 20 - YTL, the Malaysian builder with water, property and power businesses from Asia to Europe, said it has a “war chest” of RM12 billion and is hunting for acquisitions as asset values decline.
“We have an army of people combing through deals,” said managing director Francis Yeoh in an interview. “Valuations are going down by the day. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
YTL, the owner of resorts across Malaysia and the Ritz- Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in Kuala Lumpur, is assessing businesses in the property, power-generation and water industries, Yeoh said. He declined to name specific targets.
The builder is particularly looking for deals in Singapore, where rents are falling, and in the United Kingdom and Australia, where the domestic currencies have weakened.
The Malaysian ringgit is up 17 per cent against the pound and 32 per cent versus the Australian dollar in the past six months.
“If you buy a pound asset today, you can’t go that wrong,” Yeoh said. “Every time there is a currency implosion, you are at an advantage. A lot of deals are beginning to be quite salivating.”
In south Australia, where YTL owns 33.5 per cent of ElectraNet, a power generator with a 200-year licence, YTL is looking at power and transport infrastructure assets to buy. Sellers needing cash have approached YTL, said Yeoh.
YTL last month agreed to pay S$285 million for control of Macquarie Prime Real Estate Investment Trust, owner of stakes in two Singapore shopping malls — Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City. And last year, it bought an apartment building in the city-state for a then-record S$435 million.
Yeoh said YTL favours assets that already generate cash and are regulated, such as Britain’s Wessex Water, rather than those needing investment. - Today
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