Tasco to buy 50 pct of Hypercold for RM10.55 mln, to expand into Sabah, Sarawak

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 -- Tasco Bhd’s 70 per cent-owned unit, TASCO Yusen Gold Cold Sdn Bhd (TYGC), together with Swift Integrated Logistics Sdn Bhd (SILSB), have proposed to jointly acquire 100 per cent stake in Hypercold Logistics Sdn Bhd for RM21.10 million.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Tasco said both TYGC and SILSB had entered into a conditional share sale agreement with Hypercold today for the proposed acquisition.

Under the agreement, the logistics solutions provider said TYGC and SILSB would each acquire 50 per cent stake in Hypercold for RM10.55 million respectively.

On the rationale for the acquisition, Tasco said the company, through TYGC, had established itself as a prominent cold chain logistics provider in Peninsular Malaysia, however, it has no cold chain logistics presence in Sabah or Sarawak. 

“By undertaking the proposed acquisition, it will complement TYGC’s existing infrastructure to expand its cold chain logistics services offering to Sabah and Sarawak,” it said.

It added that the jointly acquisition exercise with SILSB would ensure higher take-up rate of Hypercold’s cold chain warehouse and logistics infrastructure, as TYGC would be able to leverage on the wide customer base of SILSB in Sabah and Sarawak.

“Hypercold is a strategic fit to TYGC due to its operational track record of approximately 10 years of servicing the major players in the food and beverage industry in Sabah,” it added.

According to Tasco, Hypercold currently has the largest cold chain warehouse capacity of 3,000 pallet space, as well as eight  temperature-controlled trucks in Sabah.

On outlook, Tasco expected demand for cold chain logistics would increase in tandem with the rise in the disposable income of the population in Sabah and Sarawak, whereby consumers would have greater demand for fresh and hygienic food, which in turn would drive the demand for end-to-end cold chain logistics services.

-- BERNAMA