Indonesia's Rajawali Sells USD1.1B Cement Stake

Indonesia’s Rajawali Corp. has sold a 23.66 percent stake in cement maker PT Semen Gresik, a $1.08 billion deal that is believed to be one of the country’s largest equity transactions in years. The stakes were sold at 7,000 rupiah ($0.73 cents) a share and
raised 9.8 trillion rupiah ($1.08 billion), Rajawali managing director Darjoto Setyawan announced Wednesday.

He said Rajawali, an investment company owned by Peter Sondakh, one of Indonesia’s wealthiest businessmen, will use the net proceeds from the sale to develop its mining, agriculture, property and tourism concerns. This includes five-star hotels and integrated sugar plantations in Papua province that are expected to be in operation in 2013.

Rajawali purchased a 24.9 percent stake in Gresik for $336.7 million from Mexican cement company Cemex SAB in July 2006. The sale is thought to be Indonesia’s largest equity transaction since June 2008, when coal miner PT Adaro Energy raised $1.3 billion in an initial public offering.

Setyawan said the group’s remaining 1.24 percent stake in Gresik would be offered to the government within the next month, before be offered to other investors.