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.