Pharmaniaga Berhad is understood to have received proposals from interested parties looking to take a stake and participate in the pharmaceutical company's restructuring, sources say. The interested parties are said to include institutional funds, private equity firms and private entities run by accomplished businessmen who are looking to buy into Pharmaniaga on the cheap and play a part in the company's rescue plan. Pharmaniaga, which slipped into Practice Note 17 (PN17) of the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Malaysia in February, is currently working on a regularisation plan, with assistance from investment banking outfit MIDF Group.

There are several proposals on how to resurrect the company to resolve its issues, including cash calls to regularise its financial condition, share issuance and potential emergence of new shareholders,â a source says. Another source says there are also proposals from other government-linked investment companies (GLIC) such as Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) and Khazanah Nasional Bhd, but this remains conjecture at press time. He adds that proposals also came from private entities such as BP Healthcare Group and a couple of private equity firms. BP Healthcare declined to comment when contacted.