Stonepeak said to be in exclusive talks for RM9 billion buyout of Yinson

STONEPEAK Partners is in exclusive talks for a buyout of Yinson Holdings that may value the firm at as much as RM9 billion (S$2.73 billion), according to people with knowledge of the matter, in what could be one of the biggest deals in Malaysia this year. 

New York-based Stonepeak is teaming up with the Lim family, Yinson’s founder and biggest shareholder, to take the Kuala-Lumpur-listed energy infrastructure company private, said the people, asking not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public. The Lim family owned 26.6 per cent of Yinson as at May 30. 

Considerations are ongoing and there is no certainty a deal will be reached, the people said. 

Yinson’s shares jumped as much as 14 per cent following the Bloomberg News report on the talks, the biggest intraday gain since June 2019. That cut the year-to-date loss from 20 per cent as at Thursday’s close and lifted Yinson’s market value to about RM6.5 billion. 

Representatives for the Lim family and Yinson declined to comment. Stonepeak didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Founded in the 1980s as a transport and logistics firm, Yinson has since diversified into energy infrastructure, renewables and technology, its website shows. The company signed an agreement with a consortium of investors in January for a US$1 billion funding round for a unit that makes vessels used by the offshore oil and gas industry, Bloomberg News reported at the time. BLOOMBERG