IBRA receives five bids for stake in Astra<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
\nAgency (IBRA) Cacuk Sudarijanto said on Monday the agency had
\nreceived at least five bids for its 45 percent stake in the
\npublicly listed auto giant PT Astra International after it opened
\nfresh bidding on Friday.<\/p>\n
Cacuk said this was a good signal as it indicated that foreign
\ninvestors were still interested in Astra despite the botched-up
\ndeal between IBRA and an American investor group led by
\nNewbridge\/Gilbert.<\/p>\n
Cacuk said he was optimistic that the Astra sale could be
\ncompleted by March 25.<\/p>\n
\"There are already five bids which have landed on my table,\"
\nhe said at a televised debate.<\/p>\n
He declined to name the investors and their price offer but
\nsaid IBRA had sent invitations to about 40 potential investors to
\njoin in the bid for Astra.<\/p>\n
He reaffirmed that the agency was expecting a minimum price of
\nabout Rp 4,000 (US$0.53) per share for the Astra sale.<\/p>\n
This, Cacuk said, was based on the price offered by Credit
\nLyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA), which is advising France-based
\nLazard Freres & Co., in its letter to IBRA last month.<\/p>\n
Cacuk said IBRA could not follow up the CLSA offer at the time
\nbecause the agency was still bound to an exclusivity agreement
\nwith the Newbridge\/Gilbert consortium, which only expired on Jan.
\n31.<\/p>\n
This agreement was not extended because the consortium failed
\nto conduct due diligence on Astra and provide a 30 percent
\nup-front payment.<\/p>\n
\"Now everyone is free to join in the bid. I hope Credit
\nLyonnais is still interested, and I expect the price (offer) to
\nremain at about Rp 4,000 so that this can be the benchmark for
\nother investors,\" he said.<\/p>\n
IBRA is expected to raise more than Rp 3 trillion from the
\nAstra sale in a bid to meet its target of raising Rp 17 trillion
\nto help finance the current state budget ending on March 31.<\/p>\n
Cacuk said the agency had so far earned Rp 10.5 trillion from
\nits asset sales and loan recovery, but IBRA senior deputy
\nchairman Arwin Rasyid earlier said the agency had raised more
\nthan Rp 12 trillion.<\/p>\n
Another massive IBRA deal expected to be completed next month
\nis the initial public offering (IPO) of Bank Central Asia (BCA)
\nwith the target of raising at least Rp 3 trillion.<\/p>\n
Cacuk said the Astra deal must be completed before the March
\n25 deadline, not only because it was important to meet the Rp 17
\ntrillion revenue target for the state budget but because a smooth
\ntransaction would send a strong signal to foreign investors that
\nthe government was serious about its plans to dispose of bank
\nassets controlled by the agency.<\/p>\n
IBRA has been criticized by both investors and the
\nInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) for being too slow in disposing
\nof its assets, estimated at around Rp 600 trillion (book value).<\/p>\n
\"Our mandate is to expedite the sale process, but not through
\nfire sales,\" said Cacuk, who was appointed IBRA chairman early
\nlast month.<\/p>\n
Cacuk also reaffirmed the agency's determination to change
\nAstra's management at a shareholders meeting on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
IBRA has accused the Rini Soewandi-led management team of
\nobstructing the Astra sale process with the Newbridge\/Gilbert
\nconsortium.<\/p>\n
Separately, Rini reiterated on Monday that Astra's management
\ndid not have any intention of obstructing IBRA's efforts in
\nselling its Astra stake, nor did it seek to block foreign
\ninvestors entering the company, as implied in some newspaper
\nreports.<\/p>\n
\"Our only concern is that the transaction be done
\ntransparently and fairly, according to securities market
\nregulations and good governance practices,\" Rini told a crowded
\nnews conference.<\/p>\n
At the conference, the Astra chief executive released copies
\nof a letter she earlier sent to President Abddurrahman Wahid, who
\nis now on an overseas visit, where she clarified the controversy
\nover the allegation that she had deliberately obstructed IBRA's
\ndeal with an American investor consortium led by Newbridge
\nCapital and Gilbert Global Equity Partners.<\/p>\n
\"What we are opposed to is the nontransparent manner in which
\nIBRA appointed Newbridge\/Gilbert as the preferred bidder,\" Rini
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The consortium complained that it wasn't able to conduct due
\ndiligence on Astra and to meet the deadline for concluding a
\ndefinitive agreement because of a completely uncooperative
\nattitude on the part of Astra's management.<\/p>\n
Frustrated by this process, IBRA asked in early December for
\nan extraordinary meeting of Astra's shareholders on Feb. 8 and
\nproposed a replacement of management.<\/p>\n
IBRA is accepting bids from interested investors up to Feb.
\n23, when it will publish a shortlist. A week later, those on the
\nshortlist will have the opportunity to conduct due diligence on
\nthe company, and must place final bids by March 20.<\/p>\n
The successful bidder will be announced on March 25. (rei)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ibra-receives-five-bids-for-stake-in-astra-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }