C&C eyes more Astra shares

C&C eyes more Astra shares

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Singapore's Cycle & Carriage Ltd. confirmed Tuesday that it is in discussions with Lazard Fund Asia to buy a 4 percent stake, or 103 million shares, which Lazard holds in Indonesia's PT Astra International.

"Lazard has indicated in writing that it wants to sell its stake in Astra and we are in discussions with them," said Neville Venter, finance director of Cycle & Carriage.

Cycle & Carriage currently has a 23 percent stake in Astra.

Lazard is one of the five members in a consortium led by Cycle & Carriage that bid successfully for a 40 percent stake in diversified Indonesian auto maker Astra for US$506 million.

Cycle & Carriage is likely to sign a sale-and-purchase agreement early next week, Venter said. He said the purchase price "is not far from Rp 3,700 (45 US cents) per share," adding that the acquisition will be financed through bank borrowings.