PSN to buy Jasmine's stake

PSN to buy Jasmine's stake

BANGKOK (Dow Jones): Thailand's Jasmine International PCL (H.JSM) said Wednesday that it will sell a 13.4 percent stake in PT Asia Cellular Satellite Co., which plans to launch its Garuda satellite within six months, to its joint venture partners.

Jasmine International Overseas Co., a unit of the Thai firm, agreed on Dec. 31 to sell the stake in the satellite cellular phone company to Indonesia's PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.

The sale will raise around $40 to $50 million for Jasmine International, reducing its stake in PT Asia Cellular Satellite to 8.8 percent, the Thai company said in a statement.

According to the statement, U.S. aerospace company Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) on Dec. 31 also agreed to take a 30 percent stake in the satellite company through the purchase of 90 million new shares at $1.80 each.

Lockheed Martin manufactured the Garuda satellite. The commercial satellite cellular phone service is scheduled to commence later in 1999.