Advisers have been told to halt the listing process on Bursa Malaysia, The Edge reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
“It’s officially off… I don’t think the IPO makes sense in the foreseeable future anyway,” one of them told the news outlet.
Any future attempt to list MMC Port would require a fresh application and a complete restart of the regulatory process, according to the New Straits Times.
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Malaysian tycoon Syed Mokhtar Albukhary talks to Reuters during an interview in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 9, 2003. Photo by Reuters |
The listing was initially unveiled last June and gained regulatory approval that September but was postponed to 2026 as MMC Port sought to include its full-year results to bolster valuation, as reported by Reuters.
The IPO could have raised about US$2 billion through a share sale valuing the firm at as much as $7 billion and become the biggest one in Malaysia since 2012.
Bloomberg reported this June that MMC Port was sounding out prospective buyers for a minority stake, potentially seeking a valuation of $10 billion for the whole business.
MMC Port, Malaysia’s largest container port operator, runs six ports and three cruise terminals across the country, according to its website.
It posted RM761.12 million (US$188 million) in net profit on revenue of RM4.36 billion for its financial year ended Dec. 31, 2024. Its total assets and liabilities amounted to RM15.36 billion and RM9.56 billion, respectively, at the end of that year.
The port operator last month made headlines for the appointment of Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem as its executive chairman, after which Syed Mokhtar was urged by civil society groups to rescind the appointment due to Emirati Bin Sulayem’s alleged ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
MMC Port is a wholly owned unit of MMC Corp, in which Syed Mohktar holds a controlling stake.
Forbes ranked the Malaysian tycoon as Malaysia’s 10th-richest person in April, estimating his net worth of US$3.5 billion.
He began his career as a rice trader after dropping out of high school and went on to amass a fortune, much of which stems from stakes in automotive group DRB-HICOM and MMC Corp, which also owns and operates Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru.
Besides MMC Port, the tycoon is also said to be seeking an IPO for Johor-based property developer WM Senibong, his joint venture with Australia’s Walker Corporation. The listing could raise as much as RM500 million and value the company at RM2 billion, though it has reportedly run into some hurdles.