Sampoerna buys stake in Bakrie Telecom

PT Bakrie Telecom, Indonesia’s fourth-biggest telecom company, sold 10 per cent of its stake to Sampoerna’s telecom unit, PT Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia (STI), the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday. STI will buy 10 per cent of Bakrie Telecom for $90 million in return of 35 per cent of STI through a share swap with options for it to become the majority shareholder in the next three years, said the statement. “Both Bakrie Telecom and STI’s shareholders agreed to integrate the two business operations under one management in Bakrie Telecom. The new Bakrie Telecom aims to accelerate the penetration of true mobile convergence offerings for every customer in Indonesia,” said Bakrie Telecom CEO Anindya Bakrie. On March 2, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Bakrie Telecom planned to sell new shares to a partner that may eventually take control of the company. They said it aimed to raise about 900 billion rupiah ($100 million) from the sale of a 10 per cent stake, as the firm struggles to maintain liquidity following heavy investments in its data business.