Share Swap Between Mitratel And TBIG Corporation Act: Dahlan

Jakarta, Oct 14 (Antara) - The recent share swap deal between PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi (Mitratel) and PT Tower Bersama Infrastructure Tbk (TBIG) was an initiative of the state telecommunication company PT Telkom to monetize its subsidiary Mitratel, a cabinet minister said. "It was a corporate action by Telkom to monetize its subsidiary. I never hamper such action," Minister for State Enterprises Dahlan Iskan said here on Tuesday. Earlier, the country`s largest telecommunications company signed a deal to acquire 13.7 percent worth Rp11.065 trillion of the shares of TBIG. The acquisition would be paid with Telkom`s stake in its tower subsidiary Mitratel, Arif Prabowo, a spokesman of the publicly traded state-owned telecommunications company, said. The acquisition would be made by phases, after the increase in the capital through issuance of new shares of TBIG, Arif said. He said in the first phase,Telkom will swap 49 percent stake in Mitratel equivalent to 290 million shares or 5.7 percent of TBIG`s share capital after the issuance of the new shares. In two years, Telkom has an option to exchange the remaining 51 percent stake in Mitratel with 473 million new shares of TBIG. With the deal, Telkom will have a 13.7 percent stake in TBIG. Arif said tower business is potential with high growth, adding Telkom acquires the stake in TBIG as it wants to gain from the potential business . "Cooperation with TBIG is expected to bring about higher `tenancy ratio` from towers owned by Mitratel," he said. The decision to acquire the stake by Telkom was a follow up of a strategic study and it is the best option of the company to increase its value and to utilize the tower assets, he said. The deal, with Barclay as the exclusive financial adviser of Telkom, is yet to be approved by the shareholders of TBIG and the government . "I think the decision deserve support from me as it is good for the company," Dahlan said. He said the management of Telkom once told him that the company could grow to the ranks of biggest telecommunications companies in this region if they are given freedom in taking corporate actions. Sachin Gupta, an analyst from Nomura Sekuritas said Telkom would gain from the backdoor listing as it would benefit from the growing business in tower operation. Sachin also said Telkom has succeeded in promoting the value of Mitratel through the share swap.