Indosat Sells Entire Stake in Tower Bersama

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Listed telecom company, Indosat (IDX-ISAT) sold its entire stake in Tower Bersama Infrastructure (IDX-TBIG). The entire shares amount to 239,826,310 unit, accounting for five percent of the paid-up capital to institutional investors. Indosat president director Alexander Rusli said that each share was sold for Rp5,800.

"The transaction completion is expected to take place on March 19," Rusli said Friday last week. The total sales value, he said, reached Rp1.39 trillion, excluding the cut for commission and transaction settlement costs. Merrill Lynch acted as the selling agent and while CLSA Singapore Ltd acted as the sales manager.

David Cornelis, analysts from KSK Financial Group, said that Indosat made the right decision by releasing its stake in Tower Bersama, given today's improving trading market.

David also said that the money Indosat makes from selling the shares could be used to improve the company's performances, particularly for its capital expenditures and business strategy. "The projections are better than 2013," he said.

In 2013, Tower Bersama noted reasonable financial performances, posting a 56.4-percent revenue increase to Rp2.69 trillion. Tower Bersama CEO Hardi Wijaya Liong said the achievement was the result of diversifying funding sources through bonds issuance, denominated in both the US dollars and the rupiah.

The revenue, according to Hardi, was able to fund the company's capex and meet its loan obligations. "We have recorded a growth of 2,985 units of [tower] rentals organically," he said.

ANANDA PUTRI| GALVAN YUDISTIRA