KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — Khazanah Nasional Bhd said it has sold 138.4 million shares in CIMB Group Holdings Bhd for a total of RM664.5 million.

The sovereign wealth firm said the shares were sold via private placement at RM4.80 each on Sept 8, when they had been trading at RM4.94 in the open market.

"The share placement exercise is part of Khazanah’s on-going efforts to rebalance its portfolio and recycle its investments into new assets in Malaysia and globally, including new investments under Dana Impak,” Khazanah said in a statement today.

"In line with the objectives of the Perkukuh Pelaburan Rakyat (Perkukuh) initiative outlined by the government, Dana Impak is intended to catalyse new growth areas, build Malaysia’s economic competitiveness and increase national resilience whilst driving priority socio-economic outcomes.”

The sovereign wealth firm said its stake was sold to a mix of government-linked funds, domestic and foreign long-only institutional investors, existing holders and multi-strategy funds.

Khazanah said its remaining 25.6 per cent stake in CIMB meant it was still the largest single shareholder in the firm.