KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): Ekovest Bhd (KL:EKOVEST) has secured approval from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for a one-year extension to implement its exit plan from Konsortium Lebuhraya Utara-Timur (KL) Sdn Bhd (Kesturi), the concessionaire of the Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (Duke).
Ekovest sold a 40% stake in Kesturi to EPF for RM1.13 billion in 2017, with an exit event set as a listing or trade sale within five years, extendable automatically by two years, which ended on Feb 13, 2024.
A previous extension added two more years; this latest approval adds another year until Feb 13, 2027.
“The extension is intended to facilitate and implement the exit plan for EPF and the company. For information, the company and EPF are currently evaluating various viable options to implement the exit event or any alternative plan, in the best interests of the parties,” Ekovest said in its filing with Bursa Malaysia on Friday.
According to the 2016 shareholders’ agreement, the EPF is guaranteed a minimum internal rate of return of 10%, with a performance target of 11.5% under the exit event.
If no exit occurs by the extended date, a Put Option lets EPF sell its shares to Ekovest at a 10% return within six months of the extended date expiry. A Call Option lets EPF acquire all of Nuzen Corp Sdn Bhd’s shares in Kesturi if the Put Option is not fulfilled.
Ekovest managed to end a seven-quarter losing streak in the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2025. It reported a net profit of RM8.28 million, compared to a net loss of RM24.86 million a year earlier, as revenue grew 21.8% to RM329.39 million from RM270.44 million.
The stock closed 2% to 25.5 sen a share on Friday, valuing the company at RM2.97 billion. It has lost 25% of its value over the last year.