Indofood stake sale awaits approval<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The sale of Salim Group's stake in publicly
\nlisted food maker PT Indofood Sukses Makmur to Hong Kong-based
\nFirst Pacific Co. Ltd. is still waiting for the approval of
\ncreditors, Indofood's director said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Chief executive officer Eva Riyanti Hutapea said the company
\nwas trying to get unanimous consent from the creditors.<\/p>\n
\"We are optimistic we can complete the whole deal before the
\nfirst quarter of 2000,\" Eva said after the company's annual
\nshareholders' meeting.<\/p>\n
She said First Pacific has agreed to purchase 40 percent of
\nIndofood from the Salim family for US$650 million, but the deal
\ncould not go ahead because it did not get approval from all
\nIndofood's creditors.<\/p>\n
In April, First Pacific, which is also controlled by the Salim
\nfamily, and Nissin Foods failed in their bid to buy a 60 percent
\nstake in Indofood, also because the deal was not approved by all
\ncreditors.<\/p>\n
Nissin backed down from the plan, leaving First Pacific to
\nproceed independently with the continued acquisition plan by
\ntargeting a 40 percent stake owned by the Salim family.<\/p>\n
An agreement between First Pacific and the Salim family on the
\nsale of the 40 percent stake has been reached.<\/p>\n
According to Indofood's loan agreement, any change of the
\ncompany ownership must first get approval from all its creditors.<\/p>\n
Eva said that, despite the fact that the sale of its 40
\npercent stake had not been concluded, the Salim family had put
\nanother 12.5 percent of its shares up for sale.<\/p>\n
\"For the additional 12.5 percent we will soon conduct a road
\nshow overseas,\" Eva said.<\/p>\n
The Salim family's total stake in Indofood stands at 62.66
\npercent, of which a total of 52 percent is now up for sale.<\/p>\n
Bogasari<\/p>\n
Eva said Indofood was planning to sell 40 percent to 60
\npercent of its $800 million to $1 billion stake in flour milling
\nsubsidiary \"Bogasari\" to strategic investors, who have expertise
\nin the field, by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
\"We will first take the flour milling division out of
\nIndofood's balance sheet into four independent entities, then
\nsell part of Indofood's stake in each separate entity to
\nstrategic investors,\" Eva said.<\/p>\n
\"We will use the proceeds of this sale for debt repayment,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
She said Indofood's total debts amounted to $900 million, of
\nwhich $195 million would mature this year, $380 million next
\nyear, $125 million in 2001 and the remaining $200 million in
\n2002.<\/p>\n
Eva said that about $135 million of the company's debts due
\nthis year had already been repaid.<\/p>\n
Indofood recorded a Rp 153 billion net income in the first
\nquarter of 1999, compared to Rp 28 billion in the same period of
\n1998.<\/p>\n
In 1998 the company made a net income of Rp 150 billion,
\nrecovering from the previous year's net loss of Rp 1.19 trillion<\/p>\n
Indofood shareholders approved the management's proposal to
\nforego dividend payments for the 1998 financial year, because the
\nnet profit for that year still could not cover the loss in 1997,
\nEva said. (udi)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indofood-stake-sale-awaits-approval-1447893297",
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