Indofood sells shares

JAKARTA (JP): Widely diversified Salim Group sold 230 million shares, or 12.56 percent, in publicly listed food producer PT Indofood Sukses Makmur to international investors for Rp 1.9 trillion (US$283.5 million), the group said.

"Fifty percent of the shares were bought by Asian investors, with the remaining shares acquired by investors from the United States and Europe," Salim Group executive director Benny S. Santoso said in a statement.

The shares were sold at Rp 8,300 per share.

The statement said Salim Group would use the proceeds to repay its debt to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.

The government provided Rp 47.75 trillion in liquidity support to the group's Bank Central Asia during a rush on the bank by depositors last year.

Following the shares sale, Salim controls 50.1 percent of Indofood, the statement said.

The sale was arranged by Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.(01)