Bakrie & Brothers sells assets to pay foreign debts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): PT Bakrie & Brothers has concluded the sale of 4
\nmillion \"class I\" shares in Iridium LLC to American International
\nGroup Inc (AIG) to pay $250 million in foreign debts which fall
\ndue at the end of this year.<\/p>\n
The company said in a statement on Sunday that it now holds
\n3.5 million \"class I\" shares at Iridium following the sale.<\/p>\n
However, the company did not reveal the value of the
\ntransaction, saying only that it covered its foreign debt due
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
An executive at Bakrie & Brothers said the company's debt due
\nat the end of this year totaled $250 million.<\/p>\n
The statement said the transaction was part of a financial
\nrestructuring designed to help the company survive the economic
\ncrisis.<\/p>\n
\"The management of PT Bakrie & Brothers strongly believes that
\nthis transaction will give a major push to the overall financial
\nrestructuring.<\/p>\n
\"The management is fully committed to completing the
\nrestructuring as soon as possible,\" the statement said.<\/p>\n
Bakrie & Brothers said last month that the companies nine
\nsubsidiaries had a combined foreign debt of $1.2 billion.<\/p>\n
Publicly listed Bakrie & Brothers' interests cover
\ntelecommunications, plantations, finance and steel manufacturing.<\/p>\n
Iridium LLC is a communications firm listed on the New York
\nStock Exchange. Its shares were quoted at US$38 each on Friday
\nand hit $70 last May.<\/p>\n
Bakrie's invested in Iridium in May 1997, when it bought 7.5
\nmillion shares for around $100 million. The transaction was
\npartly financed by loans from Iridium.<\/p>\n
Bakrie & Brothers' shareholding in Iridium is held through its
\nsubsidiary PT Bakrie Communications Corp.<\/p>\n
The statement said that Iridium has developed a global
\nwireless communications network that combines the worldwide reach
\nof 66 low-earth-orbit satellites with a land-based wireless
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
This system enables subscribers to communicate using hand-held
\ntelephones and pagers virtually anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n
Bakrie and Iridium, together with Japan's IDD Corp, have
\nformed a joint venture to provide Iridium's services to the South
\nPacific region.<\/p>\n
The venture, called Iridium South Pacific Ltd, will provide
\nIridium's services in Australia, New Zealand and other South
\nPacific countries. (rid)<\/p>",
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