Bakrie plans share buyback

Bakrie plans share buyback

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Bakrie family plans to buy back its shares in the publicly
listed PT Bakrie & Brothers from creditors who took over their
shares under a debt to equity deal after the company was declared
bankrupt.

Aburizal Bakrie said on Thursday he hoped to reclaim a 25
percent stake in Bakrie Brothers within the next five years.

"Imagine that we once held 100 percent, of course we'll be
glad if we are able to raise our stake," he said in a meeting on
Bakrie Brother's debt restructuring.

Following four years of negotiation, Bakrie Brothers' more
than 150 creditors agreed to restructure US$1.08 billion in debts
under a debt to equity and asset swap scheme.

Effective as of Nov. 29, the group's founding family, Bakrie
now owns a mere 2.92 percent, with another 2.08 percent owned by
the public. Creditors control 95 percent of the company.

Aburizal did not rule out the possibility of seeking new debts
to raise his family's stake in Bakrie.

Bakrie's largest creditor is the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
Agency (IBRA), which, after the deal, controls a 10 percent stake
in the holding company.

Bakrie's units still own debts of $201 million. Aburizal said
the remaining debts were manageable and thus left out of the debt
restructuring deal.