Malaysia’s sovereign fund Khazanah said last Sunday it has sold the entire stake in Iskandar Malaysia Studios Sdn Bhd (IMS), the operating company of Iskandar Malaysia Studios which is based in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Khazanah said in a statement that its wholly-owned special purpose vehicle Granatum Ventures Sdn Bhd has entered into a definitive share sale agreement to divest its shares in IMS to Studio Management Services Sdn Bhd (SMS), a consortium led by IMS’s current Malaysian management team in partnership with a regional player, GHY Culture & Media Holding Co., Limited and its subsidiary, GHY Culture & Media (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (GHY Group).

The sale will be for a 100 percent stake in the operating company, IMS, which is leasing the land where the studio premises are located from Tanjung Bidara Ventures Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned special purpose vehicle of Khazanah.

The completion of the transaction is currently pending fulfilment of the conditions precedent.

The move is to attract foreign investment, bringing economic and social benefits for Malaysia, said Khazanah.

Listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange, GHY Group is a leading diversified group within Asia’s media and entertainment industry focusing on the production and distribution of dramas, films and concerts in the Asia-Pacific region.

The collaboration and crowd-in of Malaysian entrepreneurs and capable regional partners would catalyse further growth and development of the ecosystem in IMS.

This, along with better capacity to attract large productions and the sharing of a large pipeline of content production, would contribute to higher utilization of the studio by regional and global players, which can be supported by the local production ecosystem.

SMS is expected to further enhance the services provided by Iskandar Malaysia Studios to the industry, as well as facilitate future partnerships and production opportunities for Malaysia.

Khazanah said it remains committed in retaining the positive economic spill-over benefits on the social economy while aligning its strategic imperatives of advancing Malaysia, ensuring value creation, capacity building and societal impact for the country.

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