Satelindo selects Deutsche Telecom as stake acquirer
Satelindo selects Deutsche Telecom as stake acquirer
JAKARTA (JP): After unexpectedly rejecting a British firm's bid to acquire 25 percent of its shares, PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo) yesterday agreed in principle to allow Deutsche Telekom of Germany to take the stake at US$586 million.
Deutsche Telekom will acquire the 25 percent stake through its affiliate, Deutsche Telekom Mobilfunk (DeTeMobil), which runs both analog and digital cellular telecommunications in Germany.
Satelindo's president, Iwa Sewaka, and DeTeMobil's management board chairman, Lothar Hunsel, signed the draft agreement on the acquisition here yesterday with Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, with his German counterpart Wolfgang Boetsch witnessing.
Iwa said that the agreement, after legal details are worked out, will be officially signed on April 13 at an industrial fair in Hanover, Germany, in the presence of Chancellor Helmut Kohl and President Soeharto.
According to Iwa, Satelindo's status will be altered from a domestic company to a foreign investment join venture.
Deutsche Telekom has defeated its rivals Cable and Wireless of Britain, AT&T and Nynex of the United States and France Telecom in a tough three-month bidding process.
Satelindo originally planned to sign an agreement for the share sale to Cable and Wireless last month but the signing was canceled in last minutes after DeTeMobil raised its offer.
"DeTeMobil, which manages some 1.5 million cellular telephone lines, will place $566 million in cash and $20 million in software at Satelindo," Iwa said.
He noted that DeTeMobil's offer is more favorable than Cable and Wireless, which bided for only $531 million.
"DeTeMobil will likely assign four representatives in Satelindo's boards of commissioners and directors," he said.
Ownership
Satelindo, set up with a capital of Rp 500 billion in January 1993, is now 60 percent owned by PT Bima Graha Telekomindo -- a firm equally owned by the Bimantara and Artha Graha groups -- 30 percent by PT Telkom and 10 percent by PT Indosat, both state- owned telecommunications service providers. When the transaction is effective, Bima Graha, Telkom and Indosat will control 45 percent, 22.5 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively, of Satelindo's shares, while the other 25 percent will be held by DeTeMobil.
The company's commissioners, who also signed the draft agreement yesterday, include Director General of Tax Fuad Bawazier, Bambang Sulistyo, Setyanto P. Santosa, Tommy Winata, Aziz Mochdar and Bambang Trihatmodjo, President Soeharto's son who is also the chairman of the Bimantara Group.
Satelindo runs three major businesses, including the satellites of the Palapa-C generation, mobile telephones with the Global System of Mobile communications system and international calls service, which is estimated to be the company's biggest earner in the future.
In addition to DeTeMobil, there are currently at least five foreign companies holding stakes in telecommunications firms operating in Indonesia. PTT of the Netherlands holds a stake in a subsidiary of the Bakrie Group, Telesat of Canada and Hughes of the United States in PT PSN, and Jasmine of Thailand and PLDT of the Philippines in PT Aces.
Motorola of the United States is about to set up a join telecommunications venture in Indonesia. (icn)