Mad Max to Support Malaysian Tyre Recycling IPO

He starred in the blockbuster Mad Max and Lethal Weapon series, went on to produce epics such Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ, but now Mel Gibson is putting his name to a Malaysian tyre recycling companies listing on the London stock exchange. News reports emanating from Singapore explain that Gibson has a minority shareholding in Green Rubber Global, a company that focuses in devulcanisation technology.

Bankers are valuing the company at between £150 million and £170 million, according to sources. Petra Group is owned by Vinod, who also owns 84 per cent of Green Rubber via Petra Trust. The remaining 16 per cent is held by the various celebrities named above. Part of the listing exercise is expected to include a share sale of up to 20 per cent.

Gibson will reportedly unveil the IPO plans together with Vinod Sekhar, group chief executive of Green Rubber’s parent Petra Group, during a media conference in Singapore. Petra’s public relations consultant, Catherine Ong Associates, declined to comment on Green Rubber’s listing plans but confirmed that Gibson is in Singapore as a guest of Sekhar.

Green Rubber’s other shareholders include the Forbes family, publishers of Forbes magazine, India’s former cricketer Kapil Dev, former golfer Lee Westwood and former chairman of Britain’s Vaux Brewery, Sir Paul Nicholson.

According to a Malaysia Star report, Green Rubber’s recycling technology is a legacy from Vinod Sekhar’s late father, Tan Sri B.C. Sekhar. Sekhar became the first director of Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia (RRIM) in 1966 and later was chairman of the Malaysian Rubber Research Development Board. Mr Sekhar senior was apparently affectionately known as “Mr Natural Rubber” for his rubber expertise.