RM543mil minimum price set for superyacht 'Equanimity'

KUALA LUMPUR: The superyacht "Equanimity" will go on sale for no less than US$130mil (RM543mil).

Lawyer S. Sitpah, who is representing the government, said that the price was set after the yacht, formerly owned by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, was valued by United Kingdom-based independent appraisers Winterbothams.

"Now there is a guide price for potential buyers," Sitpah added.

Sitpah also said that the government had received a court order to permit the second phase of the judicial sale.

"The first phase received bids, but the bids were not of acceptable degree. Therefore, we have to move on to the second phase," she said.

The second phase, Sitpah said, would be a normal sale through private negotiations.

The completion date of the sale is March 31, 2019.

She said this after case management at the Admiralty Court before Judicial Commissioner Khadijah Idris here on Thursday (Dec 13).

On Oct 19, the High Court declared that the Equanimity belonged to two 1MDB subsidiaries – and indirectly the Malaysian government – after its registered owner failed to show up in court to claim the vessel.

Besides 1MDB and the government, the other two plaintiffs are 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited and 1MDB Global Investment Limited, both 1MDB subsidiaries.

On Oct 5, the court granted an application by the four plaintiffs to appoint a central broker and an international appraiser to handle the sale of the vessel.

This followed a decision on Aug 24 by the same court in granting an application by the four plaintiffs to sell it.

The four plaintiffs had named the owner of the ship, Equanimity of Cayman Islands, as the defendant in the suit.

In their notice of application, the plaintiffs asked for the sale of the ship, bunkers, fuel, lubricants and other consumables on board to be conducted via public tender or private treaty by the sheriff.

The plaintiffs wanted the sheriff to receive bids or offers for the vessel and the bunkers and for the purchase price to be paid to the sheriff in US dollar, Euro or Ringgit.

They said the proceeds of the sale of the vessel should be paid to the court and placed in a bank account in Malaysia, as approved by the Accountant-General. -Star