BM Mobility makes RM850,000 offer for majority stake in Malaysian electric car-sharing firm

MAINBOARD-listed BM Mobility Ltd - the former Ziwo Holdings - is jumping into the electric car-sharing business across the Causeway, the investment holding company announced on Thursday.

It has made a RM850,000 (S$284,000) offer to acquire a majority stake in Malaysia's UNiRide Ecotour Sdn Bhd.

The proposed acquisition would also give BM Mobility the Malaysian dealership rights for the car sharing business which targets the country's public universities.

This is the first deal that BM Mobility has announced since its Jan 2 extraordinary general meeting, when it changed its name and shareholders voted in support of a core business focus on Chinese and South-east Asian green energy.

The board said in its Singapore Exchange filing that the proposed acquisition is consistent with the company's new strategy "and supports the group's effort to pursue new business opportunities in the green energy industry with a view to widening its revenue streams and delivering positive value to shareholders".

It added: "The proposed acquisition further serves as a strategic platform for the group to scale up vehicle rental business by introducing electric scooters and reaching out to more universities in Malaysia."

BM Mobility's 65 per cent owned subsidiary, Estar Investments, entered into a term sheet on Wednesday for 95.55 per cent, or almost all, of the shares in Wanted Marketing Communications, which owns 75-per cent of UNiRide and is also authorised sales agent for electric bike manufacturer Treeletrik Sdn Bhd.

The definitive share purchase agreement for the proposed acquisition is expected to be finalised by Jan 31.

While the RM850,000 price tag for Wanted Marketing Communications shares comes on the target's paid-up share capital of just RM625,000, the BM Mobility board said that it believes the premium paid to be "reasonable" and "in the interest of the company".

The board said that it has taken into account the "synergistic value that the group expects to enjoy", such as the relationship with Treelektrik, as well as "strategic business opportunities in the car-sharing programme which the group may partake through UNiRide".

UNiRide has been tapped to run a fleet of energy-efficient Perodua vehicles for staff and students at four of Malaysia's 20 public universities.

Automobile manufacturer Perodua is among UNiRide's state-linked strategic partners, alongside oil company Petronas and telco Celcom Axiata.

As the Estar Investments business already sells electric scooters to commercial users in Malaysia, BM Mobility intends to expand the UNiRide fleet with these e-scooters by February this year.

It also aims to find more Malaysian university partners beyond UNiRide's present four.

Should the deal go through, CMS Consortium Ecotour will hold on to the remaining 25 per cent interest in UNiRide.

Mr Tay Wee Kwang, BM Mobility's CEO-designate, said in a statement: "We are going full steam ahead with our green-energy plans now that shareholders have given us their blessing to pursue this business.

"UNiRide will be a key growth catalyst for us in Malaysia as we expand our portfolio of green-energy projects in Asia."

BM Mobility shares were trading flat at S$0.03 on Thursday, just ahead of the 1pm lunch break.