Mahathir's son says no to Maybank takeover

Avenue Assets Bhd, a diversified conglomerate controlled by a son of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, rejected an offer last night to sell PhileoAllied Bhd to Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) in an all-share transaction. Maybank, MalaysiaÆs biggest banking group, offered to swap one new Maybank share for every six PhileoAllied shares, valuing the target bank at M$1.2 billion ($315.8 million). That would have given PhileoAllied's shareholders a 3.3% stake in Maybank. The offer, which values PhileoAllied at 1.3 times shareholders' funds, was pitched roughly a third below market expectations, say analysts.