Gas-fired power plant Hyflux Tuaspring has been acquired by YTL Power International, a company managed by Malaysian tycoon Francis Yeoh and his siblings. In a high-profile case, Hyflux went bankrupt in 2018 and was approved to be liquidated in July of last year.
YTL said on Wednesday (June 1) that YTL PowerSeraya, its unit based in Singapore, paid S$270 million for the plant. The 396-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine power plant’s original consideration had been S$331.45 million.
“The original purchase consideration of SGD331.45 million, which was to be settled via a combination of cash, together with shares and shareholder loans in the holding company of YTL PowerSeraya, was reduced to a purely cash consideration of SGD270.0 million on completion,” the company said in a statement.
The power station had been commissioned in 2016 and was initially part of a desalination project in a private-public partnership project with Singapore’s National Water Agency, PUB.
PUB took over the water desalination plant three years later, while creditors led by Maybank took over the power plant.
“Tuaspring’s combined cycle power station complements the Group’s existing power generation assets in Singapore, creating significant synergies across our portfolio of utility businesses.
The Tuaspring plant is one of the most technologically advanced assets on Singapore’s power generation grid and this was a sound opportunity to acquire a well-structured, operating asset with a proven operational track record, enabling us to consolidate our power generation capacity in Singapore,” said Dato’ Yeoh Seok Hong, the Managing Director of YTL Power.
Francis Yeoh’s father, billionaire businessman and philanthropist Yeoh Tiong Lay, founded YTL Corp, in 1955. He died in 2017.
One of Malaysia’s independent power producers, YTL Power, was founded in 1993.
Mr Yeoh, 67, ranks 17th on Forbes’ Malaysia’s 50 Richest list for 2021, with a net worth of $1.25 billion shared with siblings (Yeoh Soo Min, Victor Yeoh Seok Kian, Yeoh Seok Hong, Michael Yeoh, Yeoh Soo Keng and Mark Yeoh).
He has been ranked as one of “Asia’s 25 Most Powerful and Influential Business Personalities” by Fortune and Business Week.
The Yeoh family’s business empire spans construction, utilities, property development, technology, and hotels, including the Ritz Carlton in Kuala Lumpur. /TISG