After weeks of intense speculation, government-linked companies Employees Provident Fund Board and UEM Group Berhad have made a formal offer to buy out highway operator Plus Expressways Berhad.

plus highway 050105 toll booths In an announcement by Bursa Malaysia this evening, the two companies have made a joint offer of RM23 billion to the asset-rich corporation, or RM4.60 per share.

In their joint offer letter dated today, they are asking for 100 percent control in the highways which Plus wholly owns which includes the North-South Expressway, the North-South Expressway Central Link, Linkedua Expressway and the Butterworth-Kulim Highway.

The government’s investment holding arm Khanazah Nasional Berhad owns UEM Berhad and it also already owns a 16.7 percent stake in Plus.

UEM Group on its own also holds another 38.5 percent stake in PLUS.

In the meantime, EPF has a 12.27 percent stake. Together they already control 67.8 percent of Plus.

There are already four other proposals to acquire Plus, including a RM50 billion offer from Asas Serba Sdn Bhd.

Trading for PLUS shares has been suspended since yesterday in anticipation of the 2011 Budget announcement.

Business weekly The Edge had quoted sources on the offer amount, just hours before the Bursa announcement at the close of the market.

However, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua had previously slammed the deal in parliament this morning, saying that it was akin to ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’.