I

nvestment company PT Bakrie & Brothers (BNBR) has sold shares in three of its subsidiaries in an attempt to pay down massive debts, raising around Rp 124.7 billion (US$13.6 million).

According to a filing to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), BNBR sold some of its shares in PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations (UNSP), PT Bakrieland Development (ELTY) and PT Energi Mega Persada (ENRG).

BNBR sold 140.54 million shares in UNSP for Rp 305.69 apiece.

Following the transaction, which was worth Rp 42.96 billion, BNBR remained holding 3.58 billion shares, or 26.38 percent of UNSP’s outstanding shares.

The company also sold 138.73 million shares in ELTY for Rp 135.96 apiece.

That transaction totalled Rp 18.86 billion and saw BNBR’s ownership reduced to 3.25 billion shares, or 7.79 percent of ELTY’s outstanding shares.

BNBR also sold 304.3 million shares in ENRG for Rp 206.67 apiece, totalling Rp 62.89 billion.

BNBR still holds 3.11 billion shares, or 8 percent of ENRG’s outstanding shares.

“The transactions were debt-to-assets settlement,” BNBR said in the filing to the market.

BNBR finance director Eddy Soeparno said that those deals involved several creditors.

He declined to name them but said that the creditors were among 42 with whom BNBR wants to settle debts by handing out its assets, including its stakes in publicly listed companies.

“We believe that our assets of ownership in publicly listed companies are main assets. However, we are an investment company that will be able to buy back those assets on the market,” Eddy said.

“The reductions in shares we hold should not be seen that we are trying to exit the respective companies.”

He gave no detail about the total amount that BNBR owes.

BNBR’s president director has previously said that the company held debts amounting around Rp 13 trillion in the beginning of 2011.

BNBR, he said, aimed to pay those debts down to around Rp 5.5 trillion by the end of 2011, through the company’s debts-to-assets settlement mechanism.

Eddy said that the debts-to-assets settlements, which started in 2010, would be finished in June.

“We hope that our remaining debts will be at Rp 3.5 trillion to Rp 4 trillion by the end of 2012,” Eddy said.

BNBR’s share price was unchanged at Rp 50, the minimum trading price on the bourse, at Tuesday’s close.

Shares in UNSP were also unchanged, at Rp 295.

Meanwhile, shares in ELTY closed at Rp 118 on Tuesday, falling 1.67 percent from Rp 210 a day earlier.

Shares in ENRG also fell by 2.17 percent, to Rp 180, from Rp 184.

—JP/Raras Cahyafitri