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ublicly listed retail giant PT Mitra Adi Perkasa announced on Wednesday that it had signed an investment agreement with a Singaporean company to sell part of its stake in its subsidiary, PT Sari Burger Indonesia.

Through the agreement, the Singaporean company, QSR Indoburger Pte. Ltd., would acquire a part stake in Sari Burger Indonesia, which operates Burger King in Indonesia.

Mitra also signed a shareholders agreement with its new investor in relation to the divestment. Both agreements were signed on Monday, the company said in an announcement posted on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) website.

However, Mitra had not yet determined the percentage of the Sari Burger stake that would be sold to QSR, the company'€™s corporate secretary, Fetty Kwartati, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. '€œWe hope we can complete the transaction before the end of this year,'€ she said.

The statement says that the completion of the transaction will take place after the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) officially approves QSR as a new investor.

According to its financial report, Mitra Adi Perkasa controls 99.99 percent of Sari Burger, which posted Rp 212.3 billion (US$17.35 million) in total assets at the end of first half of the year, a 1.04 percent increase from Rp 210.1 billion at the end of last year.

Mitra said during Wednesday'€™s announcement that the transaction would be less than 20 percent of its total equity in Sari Burger.

In the first six months of this year, Mitra posted Rp 2.49 trillion in total equity, up by 2.89 percent from Rp 2.42 trillion at the end of last year.

Fetty said QSR Indoburger, a food and beverage (F&B) company, had the necessary expertise in the sector to help Burger King'€™s expansion in the country.

'€œIn order to develop Burger King in Indonesia, we need greater economies of scale and operational improvements. That is why we need another partner to participate in our management,'€ she said.

Previously, Mitra director Susiana Latif said the firm had decided to sell its stakes in Burger King and the Indonesian franchise of Domino'€™s Pizza, which make up only between 2 and 3 percent of Mitra'€™s total revenue and contribute negatively to the firm'€™s net profits.

In the first quarter, Mitra'€™s specialty stores contributed 93 percent to its net profit total of Rp 45.5 billion ($3.9 million), followed by department stores and other business lines, which contributed 10 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Its food and beverage division, meanwhile, contributed -5 percent of Mitra'€™s net profits in the first quarter of this year, primarily driven by Domino'€™s Pizza and Burger King.

Fetty said the sale of its majority stake in Domino'€™s Pizza to Singapore-based investment manager Everstone Capital Asia Pte. Ltd. was concluded in September. '€œEverstone owns 51 percent of Domino'€™s Pizza and has promised to open around 10 to 20 outlets each year to expand the business,'€ she said.

According to Fetty, F&B division remains promising for the company due to high customer demand. A number of other F&B companies, such as Starbucks, is prepared to open up to 35 outlets a year, while other brands are aiming for an average of 5 to 10 outlets.

Mitra estimated that its total sales growth would increase by at least 15 percent next year due to the positive economy, she said.

In the first six months of this year, the company posted Rp 5.5 trillion in net revenue, up by 25.57 percent from Rp 4.38 trillion at the end of last year. Meanwhile, the company'€™s net profits totaled Rp 100.35 billion in the year'€™s first half, down from Rp 145.72 billion at the end of 2013.

Mitra shares closed at 5,150 apiece on Wednesday, up by 1.48 percent from Rp 5,075 the day before. (gda)

'€“ Khoirul Amin
contributed to the story.