Indofood subsidiary set to raise $398m

Singapore-listed Indofood Agri Resources Ltd., a subsidiary of consumer-goods giant PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, has said it has put on the table a plan to raise S$500 million (US$398 million) in medium-term notes to finance its expansion.

In a letter submitted to the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) on Monday, Indofood said that Indofod Agri, along with its subsidiaries, would issue the notes in several series or tranches.

“Each series or tranche of notes may be issued in any currency, in various amounts and tenors and may bear interest at a fixed, floating, variable or hybrid rates as applicable as agreed between the company and the relevant dealer[s],” the company said.

Indofood Agri has appointed DBS Bank Ltd. as the lead arranger and dealer for the notes issue.

The company said that it has obtained principal approval from the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited for the issue.

“The net proceeds from the issue of the notes under the program will be applied by the company for working capital or general corporate purposes of the group [Indofood Agri and subsidiaries],” the company said.

Indofood currently holds a 58.3 percent stake in Indofood Agri Resources Ltd, which controls a 72 percent stake in Jakarta-listed plantation company PT Salim Ivomas Pratama.

Salim Ivomas currently owns a 59.48 percent stake in another Jakarta-listed plantation firm, PT PP London Sumatra Indonesia. Indofood itself also holds a direct 6.4 percent stake in Salim Ivomas.

Indofood’s plantations group currently has 21 operational mills and produced around 880,000 metric tons of crude palm oil (CPO) in 2012.

The CPO is distributed to Indofood’s subsidiary businesses for the manufacture of edible oils and fats.

Indofood Agri and its subsidiaries had 230,919 hectares of oil palm estates as of the end of 2012, according to its website. The group also has rubber and sugar plantations.

Indofood and its subsidiaries have been quite aggressive in business expansion recently.

Indofood Agri, through a subsidiary, purchased earlier this year a 50 percent stake in Brazil-based cultivation and sugarcane processing company Companhia Mineira de Acucar e Alcool Participacoes.

Indofood Agri is working to expand its CPO production capacity by constructing four palm oil mills, two of which — one in South Sumatra and another in Kalimantan — are scheduled to be completed this year.

It also plans to expand its two existing mills.

Indofood itself has offered to purchase shares it does not currently own in Singapore-listed vegetable supplier company, China Minzhong Food Corp. Ltd. (CMFC). The offering was launched on Sept. 20 and will be conducted until Oct. 18.

As of Sept. 2, Indofood already owned 33.49 percent of China Minzhong and so triggered a compulsory takeover offer as per Singapore law. An offer to buy shares from all shareholders at a fixed price is compulsory in Singapore when a stake in a Singapore-listed company exceeds 30 percent.

Indofood has said that it will maintain China Minzhong’s status as a listed company in Singapore following the offer execution.

Shares in Indofood, which are traded on the IDX under a code INDF, were unchanged at Rp 7,050 (62 US cents) on Monday. (Raras Cahyafitri)