Multipolar and Temasek set to bond for expansion

JAKARTA. Diversified holding company PT Multipolar (MLPL), the owner of Hypermart and Matahari Department Stores, looks set to forge further partnerships with Singaporean investment firm Temasek Holding Ltd. to expand its business.

According to Multipolar director Reynold Pena Ong, the two sides have the possibility to conduct projects in other sectors, including property. 

“Temasek is interested in venturing into other fields, but everything is still at a preliminary stage. We are looking at many sectors, one of which is property,” he said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

At the moment, Multipolar’s subsidiaries operate primarily in retail, information technology and multimedia. Its two main subsidiaries are PT Matahari Putra Prima (MPPA), which runs Hypermart, and PT Matahari Department Store (LPPF). 

It also has other businesses in property, family entertainment, satellite television and banking.

The company, part of the Lippo Group, first partnered with Temasek when the latter agreed to take over stakes in MPPA and LPPF. In January, Multipolar signed an exchangeable rights subscription agreement with Anderson Investments Pte. Ltd., a Temasek subsidiary.

The agreement — which is reportedly worth US$300 million — allows Anderson to obtain 26.1 percent in MPPA from the 43.7 percent of shares released to public, while Multipolar remains the majority shareholder with 50.2 percent.

PT Ciptadana Securities is acting as the underwriter for the transaction. As of April 19, Ciptadana had acquired 23.1 percent of MPPA’s shares from the public.

Multipolar entered into another partnership agreement with Temasek last month when Multipolar and the Asia Color Company (ACC) Ltd. sold part of their stakes within LPPF in a private placement. Bloomberg reported that Temasek, Blackrock Inc. and the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were among the buyers. Multipolar and ACC raised Rp 12.7 trillion ($1.3 billion) by selling a maximum of 1.17 billion shares, equal to 40 percent of total LPPF shares.

Besides Temasek, Multipolar is looking to form a partnership with Japan’s Mitsui Group for its satellite television services. Multipolar director Harijono Suwarno said that Mitsui would be its new partner within PT Indonesia Media Televisi.

(Tassia Sipahutar/The Jakarta Post)