Govt sells stake in Indofood

Govt sells stake in Indofood

JAKARTA (JP): The government has sold its remaining 86.3
million shares, or about 4.7 percent, in publicly listed instant
noodle maker PT Indofood as part of the ongoing privatization
program.

The office of the state minister of the empowerment of state
enterprises announced on Wednesday that the shares were sold to
fund managers through the Jakarta Stock Exchange at Rp 5,800 per
share on Tuesday.

The placement price was 7 percent below the closing price of
Indofood shares during the day, but was about 16 percent higher
than the Rp 5,000 per share the government obtained in the sale
of 100 million shares last January.

The government raised about US$60 million from the latest
transaction, according to PT Jardine Fleming Nusantara, which
jointly carried out the deal in cooperation with PT Danareksa
Securities and PT Bahana.

Indofood's majority owner, the Salim Group, has agreed to sell
a 60 percent stake in the company to Japan's Nissin Food Products
Co. and Hong Kong's First Pacific Corp. for $570 million, or Rp
3,950 per share.

But First Pacific said recently the deal hit a snag with the
pending approval of third parties to the sale.