KUALA LUMPUR: Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld Malaysia) plans to sell 49.83 hectares of industrial land in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, to Microsoft Payments (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd for RM402.3 million, equivalent to RM75 per square foot (psf).

Eco Business Park 6 Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of EcoWorld Malaysia, signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Microsoft Payments on June 7 to facilitate the sale of the land, which is situated within Eco Business Park VI (EBP VI).

According to EcoWorld Malaysia's filing on Monday, the proposed cash sale of the land to Microsoft Payments marks the first transaction within EBP VI.

EcoWorld Malaysia originally acquired this land, part of a master parcel measuring 403.78 acres within EBP VI, in September 2023 at RM12 psf.

The developer anticipates that the establishment of a substantial data centre by a globally recognised tech company will boost demand for other industrial products in EBP VI.

In addition, it allows the group to rapidly unlock the value of EBP VI to accelerate cash flow generation from the project, the group said.

EcoWorld Malaysia believes that the successful completion of this sale will increase the group's cash reserves, supporting its active pursuit of new land acquisitions.

The group expects to finalise the land sale by late 2025.

It said that a portion of the sale proceeds will cover associated costs and land development, projected to occur within 24 months of the SPA's date.

Additionally, part of the proceeds will be allocated for bank loan repayment.

The remaining balance will be used as working capital for the group, it said.

Microsoft Payments, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd, has in November 2023 acquired four parcels of land totaling 85.37 acres in Johor from Crescendo Corp Bhd for RM447.64 million in cash.