Petroliam Nasional Bhd, the state owned oil and gas company of Malaysia, has increased its offer to purchase MISC Bhd. MISC Bhd is valued at 9.2 billion ringgit or US$3 billion.

The highest prior bid made was made by the Employees Provident Fund at 5.30 ringgit per share. An alternative bid was then made by Petronas at 5.50 ringgit per share. Both are shareholders in the shipping firm, with Petronas holding 62.67% equity stake while the Fund has 9.54%. 

Petronas chose not to disclose information on the offer, as the offer is four sen or 0.73% higher than MISC's share value at trading day close of 5.46 ringgit per share. 

Analysts have estimated that MISC can fetch higher prices after it sells off its liner business, which has caused massive losses for the company. One such analyst, RHB Investment Bank places the share value of the company at 6.03 ringgit per share.