Ibra gets nine bids for four assets, including Chandra Asri

23 June 2003 03:30  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (CNI)--The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra) has received nine preliminary bids for four major assets, valued at a total $4.76bn (Euro4.11bn), that are being offloaded under its asset sales programme, including a stake in the country's sole cracker operator Chandra Asri.

An Ibra spokesman told CNI on Monday that at least two foreign companies and one local company were among those to have lodged preliminary bids last Friday (20 June) for the agency's 28.72% stake in Chandra Asri and $100m in loans. The spokesman could not divulge the names or nationalities of the companies.

He said prospective investors had submitted business plans and sales and purchase agreements which were currently being evaluated. Only potential investors who are successful at this qualification stage will be eligible to take part in the final bid on 4 July.

The winning bidder for each of the four assets will be obliged to make a first payment of 30% of the purchase price offered by 15 July. The signing of the sales and purchase agreement will take place on 16 July. The balance 70% of the purchase price for each asset must be paid by 20 July.

Apart from Chandra Asri, the other Ibra assets up for sale include restructured and unrestructured loans owed by troubled textile conglomerate Texmaco, the Bali Nirwana Resort and Golf club at Tanah Lot and a sugar plant owned by PT Fabrik Gulah Rajawali. Texmaco operates a 340 000 tonne/year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant to support its downstream operations in staple fibres and fibre yarns.

Industry sources said while Chandra Asri's majority shareholder Prajogo Pangestu could not bid for the company under his own name or in the name of any of his companies, he could use a special purpose vehicle as such a method would be allowed under Ibra's criteria.

Prajogo owns a 47% stake in Chandra Asri after recent restructuring -- down from the 76.19% he owned earlier.

Prajogo is known to be a close friend of Sudwikatmono, an associate of former President Suharto, whose Indika Group was the successful bidder earlier this year for polyethylene (PE) producer PT Petrokimia Nusantara Interindo (Peni) for $50m.

Industry speculation is that Sudwikatmono and Prajogo, co-founders of Indonesia's largest polypropylene (PP) producer PT TriPolyta, will get together to bid for Ibra's stake in Chandra Asri

Chandra Asri, a 550 000 tonne/year olefins player, also produces 300 000 tonne/year of PE. Along with Peni's 450 000 tonne/year of high density PE (hdPE)/linear low density PE (lldPE), the merger would create a formidable PE player.

 

By: James Dallmeyer
+65 6780 4359

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