BNBR sells off shares in plantation and telecom units

JAKARTA. Publicly-listed company Bakrie and Brothers (BNBR) has sold part of its shares in plantation and mobile telecom subsidiaries to settle debts and to finance new investment projects.

In a report filed with the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), BNBR said that it had sold 170.48 million shares in its rubber and oil palm plantation company PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantation (UNSP) as part of a debt settlement with its creditors.

BNBR, which is controlled by the family of Aburizal Bakrie, the chairman of Indonesia’s second largest political party Golkar, sold the shares in UNSP for Rp 330 per share in a total transaction worth about Rp 56 billion (US$6.13 million).

“The transaction was carried out outside the bourse on Dec. 30, 2011. The transaction was aimed at settling company debts,” BNBR corporate secretary RA Sri Dharmayanti said in the report.

Following the transaction, BNBR owns, directly and indirectly, 3.72 billion shares, or a 27.42 percent holding, in UNSP, down from 29.8 percent. BNBR stopped including UNSP in its financial report last year.

BNBR director of finance Eddy Soeparno said that the company had sold its shares to the company’s two creditors as settlement of debts. The shares were previously pledged as collateral to the creditors, he added.

According to company data, BNBR debts of about Rp 7.78 trillion will mature this year. About $569 million, owed to Credit Suisse AG Singapore, will mature in March.

Other company creditors include Bank ICB Bumi Putera, Ascension Ltd., Seychelles, Solent International Limited, Bank Sarasin-Rabo (Asia) Ltd and Harus Capital Pte. Ltd.

In a separate transaction, BNBR sold 4.3 billion of its shares in another subsidiary PT Bakrie Telecom (BTEL), which is also listed on the IDX. In a report filed with the IDX, BNBR said it had sold its shares in the mobile phone operator for Rp 340 a share on Dec. 31. BNBR received about Rp 1.46 trillion from this divestment.

“The transaction was conducted outside the bourse as an investment,” Sri said in the report, without naming the share purchasers.

Following this transaction, BNBR has 8.53 billion shares, or a 29.95 percent holding, in BTEL. According to its financial report in September 2011, BNBR had a 41.59 percent holding in BTEL.

The sales follow the divestment of BNBR’s 23.8 percent stake in London-based Bumi Plc to Indonesian hard-coking coal producer PT Borneo Lumbung Energi & Metal, Tbk (BORN). The company raised about $1 billion from that divestment to pay its debts to Credit Suisse.

BNBR reported a net loss of Rp 281.4 billion in the first nine months of 2011. The company expects to book a net profit in 2011 following its recent reorganization, which eliminated a deficit of Rp 34.9 trillion.

Meanwhile, UNSP booked a net profit of Rp 515 billion and BTEL reported a net loss of Rp 498.48 billion in the first nine months of 2011. (The Jakarta Post)