www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Separate and independent tender offers has been launched by two subsidiaries of Indonesia’s second largest cellular operator, PT Indosat, to purchase for cash any and all of their outstanding notes. Raising new 10-year money in line with the tender offers is also on Indosat’s cards.
Indosat Finance Company is buying back its outstanding 7.75% guaranteed notes due November 2010 amounting to USD235 million, while Indosat International Finance Company is purchasing its outstanding 7.125% guaranteed notes due 2012 amounting to USD109 million.
The Qatar Telecom-controlled operator has 17,010 towers which could be worth around $1.9 billion. Two subsidiaries of Indonesia’s second largest cellular operator, PT Indosat, have launched separate and independent tender offers to purchase for cash any and all of their outstanding notes. Indosat is also raising new 10-year money in line with the tender offers.
A series of investor meetings in Singapore, Hong Kong, London and the US has been held by Indosat and the pricing is expected before the end of next week. The tender offers expire on June 9 and to receive the early tender premium bondholders will need to tender the bonds before the early tender deadline
The business is eyed by Indonesian private equity firm Saratoga Capital, which has much of its $450 million assets invested in telecoms towers and other infrastructure. As per Saratoga chairman Edwin Soeryadjaya, funding would not be an issue as our partners are in a strong position and estimated that Indonesia needs 150,000 towers to meet demand, but to date less than 40,000 towers have been deployed. Telkom, owner of the country’s largest cellco Telkomsel has not decided yet whether it would be bidding for for Indosat’s tower business or not.
Purchase of 12,000 of Indosat’s towers has been on Telkom’s cards with a view to rolling these assets into its tower arm, Mitratel, ahead of a planned IPO and almost $400 million in loans has been secured by the company from local banks to help buy out SingTel’s stake in its tower arm in readiness for Mitratels’ listing.
Meanwhile, XL Axiata has announced that it has no plans to put its tower assets back on the block. Due to economic slowdown last year, its plan to sell tower was put on hold.