B

ottled water company Aqua Golden Mississippi has secured approval to go private from its minority public shareholders, who will receive a buyback price more than twice the current share value.

President director Parmaningsih said 83 percent of Aqua’s public shareholders holding 584,520 shares approved the plan to go private and delist Aqua shares from the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) during an extraordinary shareholders meeting on Wednesday.

The public holds 5.65 percent of Aqua’s total shares, while the controlling 94.35 percent stake is owned by Tirta Investama, which is 74 percent controlled by French firm Danone Groupe SA.

“Shareholders agreed to the offer made by Aqua to buy back shares for Rp 500,000 [US$56] per share,” Parmaningsih said — more than double the current share price of Rp 244,800 and 67 times higher than the initial public offering (IPO) price of Rp 7,500 in 1990.

The company will have to spend Rp 354 billion to buy back outstanding shares, she said.

As previously reported, Aqua needed the approval of 51 percent of its minority public shareholders to complete the buyback, which its has been planning since 2001.

The buyback was delayed since the number of minority shareholders supporting the buyback never met the minimum requirement, as many shareholders rejected the proposed buyback price.

“For [investors] who have held shares since Aqua launched its initial public offering, the buyback will offer a lot of profit,” Doharta Juluh, who bought shares at Rp 75,000 during the IPO.

Junaidi, a legal consultant from IKS & Partners, which represents a foreign investment banking firm that owns 14.2 percent of Aqua’s minority shares, said he disagreed with the offer, adding that Aqua’s share price should be valued at more than Rp 500,000.

“The brand Aqua has a promising outlook, given its resources and ‘domination’ of the market,” he said.

Aqua has been Indonesia’s top water business, with the word “Aqua” used as a popular synonym for “water” by patrons of the nation’s restaurants and kiosks.

On the dispute, Parmaningsih said shareholders could file complaints. “But the majority of public shareholders have agreed. Those who disagree can still hold their shares in Aqua as a private company,” she added.

Parmaningsih added that the decision to delist Aqua was based on the company’s assessment that it could finance its operational needs using internal funding.

Aqua Golden booked a net profit of Rp 32.58 billion in the first quarter of this year, almost a 24 percent increase from the same period last year. Company net profits rose 16.5 percent to 95.9 billion in 2009. (est)