Kotjo bids for UPP stake

Kotjo bids for UPP stake

SINGAPORE (Reuter): United Overseas Bank Ltd and N.M. Rothschild said yesterday a group of prominent Indonesian investors had exercised a series of options to buy a large stake in United Pulp & Paper (UPP) at Singapore $1.10, triggering a general offer for the firm at that level.

The institutions, acting as advisors to the Indonesian investors which include Bambang Trihatmodjo and Johanes Kotjo, said on Nov. 9 that their clients had taken options to buy a total of 43.5 percent of UPP's shares.

They said in a joint statement yesterday that these options had now been exercised. They had to be taken up by January 31.

The options are in two blocks. One block of 39.9 million shares, or 35 percent, is between Branburgh Holdings Pte Ltd, partly owned by Bambang, as the buyer, and Malaysia's Muda Holdings Berhad and another firm as sellers.

The other block of 9.7 million shares, or 8.5 percent, is between Amber Investments Holdings Ltd, owned by Kotjo, as the buyer and Hartaban Holdings Sdn Bhd.

The options had been conditional on approval by Muda shareholders.