JAKARTA: Only a week after disposing of its shares in PT Sarana Menara Nusantara Tbk, the Djarum group acquires 515 million shares in PT Bank Central Asia Tbk from UBS Securities for IDR3.45 trillion.
The transaction corroborates the position of the Djarum group as the majority shareholder of BCA, a bank controlling the third largest assets in Indonesia. The group, helmed by Hartono brothers (Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono), now controls a 50.24% stake in BCA. "Through Credit Suisse, the group [Djarum] buys from UBS Securities 515 million shares in BCA for IDR6,700 per share. The transaction took place on Monday," told one Bisnis who knew the transaction yesterday. The group purchased the UBS-owned shares through two subsidiaries, namely PT Tricipta Mandhala Gumilang and PT Caturguwiratna Sumapala, which are also the controlling shareholders of Sarana Menara. Last week, Robert and Michael raised IDR4.76 trillion from the private placement of a 38.9% share in Sarana Menara. Djarum disposed of 396.89 million shares that it controlled through Tricipta and Caturguwiratna. The two tycoons have just been named the wealthiest men in Indonesia by Forbes. They are touted to command a total wealth of US$11 billion. The shares sold for IDR12,000 per share, a discount of 7.34% from the market price of IDR12,950 per share on the previous day. Credit Suisse and CLSA served as the sale agents. It has not yet been identified whether the fund raised from the private placement is the one used to acquire shares in BCA. However, by spending only IDR3.45 trillion to buy shares in BCA, it means that the Djarum group still has IDR1.31 trillion available for the next corporate actions. The source confided the Djarum group now controls a total 50.24% share in BCA following the acquisition. The transaction is the culmination point of the group's systematic efforts to control BCA. By paying IDR6,700 for the share, Djarum spent a premium price of 1.5% above the closing price of IDR6,600 on Monday. Yesterday, the share (BBCA) closed at IDR6,650, up IDR50 or 0.75%, creating a market cap of IDR163.95 trillion. When Bisnis asked for confirmation from Vice President Director of BCA Jahja Setiaatmadja, he declined to comment on the matter. BCA is a bank controlling the third largest asset in Indonesia after PT Bank Mandiri Tbk and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Tbk. Until October 2010, the bank controlled a total asset of IDR309.88 trillion or 11.08% of the national banking industry's assets. Initially, Djarum was only a minority contributor in Farallon Indonesia Investment, which won the tender for the acquisition for a 51% stake in BCA in March 2002 for IDR5.3 trillion. Farindo outstripped other potential investors like Standard Chartered Bank and the Indonesian Batik Cooperatives Association (GKBI). The owner of BCA consists of two big consortia, namely Alaerka Investment (10%) and Farindo Holdings (90%). Alaerka Investment is owned by Robert Budi Hartono, the owner of cigarette company PT Djarum in Central Java. In the course of time, however, Djarum turned the things around, leading Alaerka to control a 90% stake. In addition, the acquisition of UBS-owned shares strengthens the position of Djarum as the single majority shareholder of BCA. Focus of the bank An analyst at PT Indo Premier Securities Ikhsan Binarto viewed the acquisition showed the Djarum Group focused on investments in the banking sector instead of in the telco tower business through Sarana Menara Infrastruktur. "The group puts more focus on the banking sector and finds the sector more potential. As the majority shareholder, they have a stronger grip over BCA with larger voting rights in the shareholders meeting." Amid expectation for stronger economic growth, he added, banks as one of the keys to the real sector financing would have stronger position, creating potential to book bigger business growth. Ikhsan viewed the acquisition would not lead to tender offer since the volume of shares was small at only 2.1% of the circulating shares. Separately, Vice President Research & Analyst at PT Valbury Asia Securities Nico Omer saw nothing special in the decision of the Djarum Group to increase its ownership in BCA. He added Djarum probably would have abundant funds at the yearend, prompting them to strengthen their business in the banking industry. When asked about the general outlook of the banking industry, Nico warned market players had to be careful next year following the possibility of the central bank (BI) raising the benchmark BI Rate. According to him, the banking industry could not escape the influence of domestic inflation. "Inflation will remain a threat." In terms of share price, he considered BCA share overpriced and suggested investors holding BBCA shares. Nico also observed BCA's loan to deposit ratio was still below the national average. (09/ags/wiw)
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