Astra shares trade heavily at takeover rumors

Astra shares trade heavily at takeover rumors

JAKARTA (JP): PT Astra International shares dominated trade
on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) yesterday following rumors of
a take-over bid by politically well-connected groups.

Some 35.56 million Astra shares changed hands, with a total
transaction value exceeding Rp 143.64 billion (US$60.8 million).

Astra share prices peaked at Rp 3,800 (US$1.62) in midday
trading before ending the day at Rp 3,775, up Rp 25 on the
previous day.

Heavy trading of the shares began Monday, raising the price of
Astra shares by Rp 475 this week. The JSX Composite Index rose
yesterday to close at 573.3, up from 571.25 on Thursday.

Securities dealers said Astra's shares peaked at Rp 3,800 in
morning trading on the back of a newspaper report that President
Soeharto's family would acquire a large stake in the widely-
diversified company.

The share price of the country's largest automobile company,
weakened in the afternoon with individual investors selling their
shares for profit taking, a dealer said.

JSX president Cyril Noerhadi refused to comment on the
takeover rumor.

Chairman of the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) I
Putu Gede Ary Suta said yesterday evening that he was awaiting a
formal report on the takeover plan.

Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana and her
foundations are seeking to buy at least a 20 percent stake in
Astra, which has more than 130 subsidiaries and affiliated firms.

Siti Hardiyanti, affectionately known as Tutut, is reported to
have been negotiating to buy Prayogo Pangestu's 10.68 percent
stake in Astra, which he holds via PT Delta Mustika.

The President's family through the Nusamba Group is also
trying to buy 10.61 percent of Astra from some state-owned banks
and their pension funds, according to Bisnis Indonesia yesterday.

The Nusamba Group is 80 percent owned by foundations
controlled by Soeharto, 10 percent owned by his eldest son Sigit
Harjojudanto and 10 percent owned by businessman Mohammad (Bob)
Hasan. The group also sought to buy a 3 percent share in Astra
from Putera Sampoerna a few days ago.

Putera, the majority shareholder of the publicly listed
cigarette producer H.M. Sampoerna, recently bought his Astra
shares from Henry Pribadi's Number 6 Enterprise.

If these three deals are successful, the politically-well
connected companies will together become the single largest
shareholder in Astra with more than a 24 percent stake in the
company.

Astra, with 1.16 billion listed shares, posted a 17.18 percent
increase in its consolidated net revenue to Rp 6.84 trillion
(US$2.9 billion) in the first semester of this year, but its net
profit of Rp 182.83 billion had only risen slightly. The
company's total assets were valued at Rp 17.5 trillion in June,
rising Rp 1.85 trillion since December 1995.

The latest data on Astra's shareholder composition is not
immediately available.

A press release issued by Astra's Vice President for Public
Affairs Aminuddin yesterday only listed the shareholder
composition on Sept. 24.

The list included Astra's 20 largest shareholders. The 10
largest were (in terms of share holdings): Delta Mustika (10.68
percent), Toyota Motor Corporation (8.26), International Finance
Corporation (4.73), Bogasari Flour Mills (4.57), Bank Ekspor
Impor Indonesia (3.98), Yayasan Kesejahteraan Pegawai (3.78),
Norbax Inc (3.65), Number 6 Enterprises Ltd (3.26), Danamon
International (2.24) and Arman Investment Utama (2.06). (hen)