Bimantara aims to raise Rp 750b via rights issue
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Publicly listed media and telecommunications conglomerate PT Bimantara Citra plans to sell more of its shares on the stock market via a rights issue, in order to fund the expansion of its media and telecommunications businesses.
Bimantara president Harry Tanoesoedibjo said the company planned to raise around Rp 750 billion (US$89 million) from the issue, slated for next month.
"The funds will be used to finance the development of our media and telecommunications businesses," said Harry on the sidelines of a ceremony on Wednesday.
He said the company would hold a shareholders' meeting at the end of March to seek approval for the plan.
The company has appointed Merrill Lynch, CLSA and Mandiri Sekuritas as financial advisors for the issue.
Apart from having control in the country's first private television station, PT Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia (RCTI), Bimantara also owns shares in television station TPI, Metro TV and Global TV, which runs MTV-franchised programs.
The company has recently teamed up with U.S.-based telecommunications company Qualcomm Inc. and South Korea's KTF Co. in establishing a CDMA-based cellular operator PT Mobile-8 Telecom, which provides cellular services under the brand name Fren.
Harry expected the company's cellular subscribers to grow to 1.9 million in 2005 from around 800,000 currently.
He said the company's sources of revenue for this year would primarily be contributed by RCTI, TPI and the newborn Mobile-8.
Elsewhere, Bimantara announced that it had signed an agreement to shift its entire shareholding in RCTI to its subholding subsidiary PT Media Nusantara Citra (MNC). MNC is 99.99 percent owned by Bimantara.
Through MNC, Bimantara now owns 100 percent of the shares in RCTI and 70 percent in Global TV. In the future, the company will place all its TV stations under MNC to benefit from economies of scale.
Bimantara was founded by Bambang Trihatmodjo, the second son of former President Soeharto.
The company's shares ended down Rp 50 at Rp 3,600 on Wednesday.