KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — A vehicle controlled by billionaire Ananda Krishnan will buy out the owners of a 53 per cent stake in Tanjong Plc in a deal that values the entire company at RM8.8 billion, its financial adviser said today.

Tanjong Capital, set up by Ananda’s Usaha Tegas investment vehicle and other unnamed parties, launched a bid for Tanjong at RM21.80 per share for the entire company, Nazir Razak, chief executive officer of investment bank CIMB told a press conference.

Usaha Tegas already owns 47 per cent of its Tanjong’s 403 million shares.

“The idea is to be substantially larger than what Tanjong is today and that would require significant capex,” Nazir said.

The deal is at a 22 per cent premium to Tanjong’s last traded price of RM17.88 per share and Tanjong Capital will have to pay RM4.66 billion to buy out the free float, if investors accept the offer.

“A privatised Tanjong will enable the business to seek out long-term capital providers and where it serves the corporate objective allow the introduction of strategic partners or undertaking of broader partnerships,” Tanjong said in a statement.

Nazir said it was premature to talk of spinning off the gaming business at this point, although the company said it wanted to be a global power firm, hinting at a separation.

Ananda (picture), who is in the top 100 of the Forbes rich list, this week launched a RM662 million cash bid for MEASAT Global on Wednesday.

The reclusive tycoon has launched a slew of corporate deals over the past 12 months, relisting a part of his Maxis telecoms company in November in what was then Southeast Asia’s biggest initial public offering.

He also privatised Malaysian pay-TV monopoly Astro All Asia Networks Plc in March after a loss-making expansion into Indonesia and India weighed on the company’s finances. — Reuters