BTEL obtains $50 million loan
The Jakarta Post | Business | Wed, July 25 2012, 10:31 AM
Paper Edition | Page: 14
JAKARTA: Publicly listed telecommunications company PT Bakrie Telecom (BTEL) has secured a syndicated loan amounting to US$50 million, which will help the company pay off its debts.
The Singapore branch of Credit Suisse facilitated the loan, which has an interest rate of 11.5 percent and will mature in 18 months.
“We are grateful that foreign financial institutions still have trust in BTEL. It will accelerate the company’s revitalization program,” BTEL president director Anindya Bakrie said in a written statement.
The loan, combined with funds raised from non-preemptive rights issue, or shares offered first to BTEL shareholders, will pay BTEL’s rupiah denominated bonds of Rp 650 billion ($68.4 million), which will mature on Sept. 4.
BTEL is in the process of performing the non-preemptive rights issue in order to raise a total of Rp 754 billion. The rights issue is scheduled to be completed in August. Besides payment of debt, a number of shares offered in the rights issue will also be used in a share swap deal, in which BTEL will acquire a 35 percent stake in PT Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia. In return, Sampoerna will hold a 2.3 percent stake in BTEL.
