Kuala lumpur: Share prices of IJM Corporation Bhd declined in early trade on Tuesday, while Sunway Bhd shares were marginally higher as Sunway's conditional voluntary general offer (VGO) had lapsed after failing to meet the condition of securing over 50 percent shareholders' acceptance level in IJM. Earlier, trading in the securities of IJM Corp and Sunway in Bursa Malaysia was halted from 9 am to 10 am today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, as of 10.45 am, Sunway added one sen to RM5, with 868,200 shares traded, while IJM fell five sen to RM2.31 with 1.1 million units changed hands. Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) opined that the unsuccessful takeover attempt by Sunway lengthened the value crystallisation timeline for IJM Corp shareholders.

The investment bank noted that IJM's strategic shareholders might be taking a longer-term view for a larger upside as the group aims to execute several value unlocking exercises, as mentioned in its independent advisor's briefing earlier. These initiatives include highways monetisation, listing of its construction arm, and India portfolio rationalisation. In any case, the takeover attempt has created a strong sense of urgency for IJM's management and board to expedite these initiatives, according to HLIB.

HLIB also mentioned that the spin-off listing of IJM's construction arm required the group to demonstrate solid margin execution, increasing data center exposure, and a robust order replenishment outlook. Meanwhile, MBSB Investment Bank Bhd noted that potential upcoming job awards for IJM were likely to come from data center projects in the Klang Valley and Johor, and the company was also potentially securing a share in major infrastructure works, particularly the RM5 billion-RM6 billion Penang Mutiara Line LRT cross-sea package, which could meaningfully boost order book visibility.