DRB-Hicom Bhd has said in a filing with the stock exchange that it is planning to acquire a majority stake in Composite Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CTRM).

DRB-Hicom will acquire a 96.87 per cent stake in the maker of aircraft composite components from the Ministry of Finance in a deal valued at RM298.3 million, according to the filing. DRB-Hicom's wholly-owned subsidiary, DRB-Hicom Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd will acquire 466.78 million ordinary shares of RM1 each in CTRM.

"CTRM is principally involved in the development and production of aircraft composite components while its subsidiaries are involved in the designing, developing and manufacturing of composite components for aerospace and non-aerospace applications of which include applications for the defence and automotive industries," the defence contractor said.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) has retained the "AA-" rating for DRB-Hicom's RM1.8 billion Islamic medium-term notes (IMTN) programme. The rating agency retained the rating outlook at negative. MARC said that the retained rating is due to DRB-Hicom's asset disposals while the negative outlook indicates the pressure faced by the company capital structure and execution challenges.

DRB-Hicom is trying to strengthen Proton Holdings Bhd's performance in order to allow the company to turn around its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lotus International Group. The company is aiming to reduce its debt to RM2.9 billion by disposal of assets.