CVC, Lippo postpone plan to exit Indonesia's Link Net
CVC Capital Partners and the Riady family's Lippo Group have suspended plans to sell their majority stake in Link Net, an Indonesian fixed-line broadband and cable TV operator.
A Link Net spokesperson told Reuters that the slowdown in Indonesia's economy has made it more difficult to agree on a deal, so the company will wait until the situation improves. It was reported in September that Providence Equity Partners and Indosat were both bidding for the asset, with the sellers valuing the entire company at up to $1.5 billion.
Link Net's share price has dropped more than 40% over the past six months and the stock is currently trading around the INR3,295 mark. This equates to a market capitalization of IDR10 billion ($720 million).
CVC invested $275 million in Link Net through a bond and share issue in 2011, leveraging ties to Lippo Group that had secured a buyout of Matahari Department Store the previous year. The private equity firm took a 33.94% stake, with the option of increasing it to the 49% foreign ownership ceiling.
This option was exercised when Link Net went public in June 2014. The company raised IDR487 billion as First Media sold 304.3 million shares at IDR1,600 apiece, reducing its stake from 66.06% to 56.06%. The holding fell to 41% as a portion of shares were transferred to CVC-owned Asia Link Dewa.
A share placement followed in October 2014 that saw First Media, Asia Link Dewa and other shareholders sell a 30% stake in the company for around IDR8.15 trillion. Link Net offloaded a 7.45% stake plus options for a further 3.55%. CVC was left with a 33.4% interest in Link Net, with First Media holding 33.6%.
Link Net's network covered more than 1.4 million homes across Greater Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and Bali as of year-end 2014. The company owns and operates the largest two-way high-speed broadband service, providing internet access to retail and business customers, including the delivery of data communication and cable TV services.
Revenue for 2014 came to IDR2.13 trillion, up from IDR1.66 trillion the previous year. Net profit increased from IDR362.2 billion to IDR557.9 billion over the same period.
More on Trade sale
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.