KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — Shares of Kencana Petroleum Bhd and Sapuracrest Petroleum Bhd will be suspended from May 2 to carry out the capital repayment exercises by both oil and gas services firms.

The capital repayment comes as part of the planned merger of both companies under a new listed group called Sapura Kencana Petroleum Bhd, the largest in the Malaysian oil and gas sector.

Kencana and Sapuracrest announced today their shares will be suspended until both counters were delisted from the Malaysian stock exchange.

The ex-date for the capital repayment falls on May 4 while the entitlement date is on May 8, according to separate filings to the local stock exchange.

The subsequent listing of the merged entity is expected to create a company with a market capitalisation of more than RM10 billion, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters in February. — Reuters