Sime Darby, a Malaysian trading conglomerate, agreed to acquire a 61.2% stake in UMW, a conglomerate with a diverse portfolio of businesses, from Permodalan Nasional, an investment management company, for $770m. “This is a strategic move to further scale up and strengthen our presence in the Malaysian automotive sector, adding two highly performing brands into our Malaysian portfolio – Toyota and Perodua. The deal will cement Sime Darby’s position as Malaysia’s leading automotive player. As a partner of choice to some of the most admired brands in the automotive sector, we are very excited to have the opportunity to work with Toyota, one of the world’s largest and most respected automakers,” Jeffri Salim Davidson, Sime Darby CEO.